TNA Impact moving to Mondays;good or bad?

[sh17]

credit:prowrestling.com

While the news that TNA iMPACT! is moving to Monday night comes as no surprise, there was some intrigue in the fact that Spike TV scheduled its two-hour wrestling program to go directly head-to-head with RAW.

Previous speculation assumed iMPACT! would air from 8PM-10PM, a staggered approach that would give the program a chance to build an early audience against WWE's 9-11PM powerhouse on USA. But in going directly against RAW, there has been some concern about what visibility TNA will have on Mondays, especially since its programs will not all rival the magnitude of the successful January 4 special.

At press time, however, the faces of TNA are confident that it made the right decision.

"This was the decision we felt was best to start with," said TNA President Dixie Carter at a press conference Monday. Carter also put over that the "wonderful, amazing [TNA fanbase has] always followed us," a sign of confidence that the show can succeed on Mondays.

Hulk Hogan offered the "wrestler's point of view," explaining, "If you're going to prove that you're the best, then you're going to get in the fight."

He added, "[If I were still an active wrestler], I would want to go head-to-head with what we call the competition...for me, that would be the only option...The wrestlers like a fight and like to prove themselves."

TNA iMPACT! moves to Mondays beginning March 8.

[Bubba JD]

it's TNA's funeral. might as well finish the job, as far as i'm concerned.

[freak]

Anybody wanna bet the ratings will drop to near zero?

[Bubba JD]

TNA will see a ratings spike for a little while. won't stay that way for long. i give them a month before things go to the shitter, and i feel i'm being generous on this.

[sh17]

Well, a lot of people are drawing comparisons to when WCW did the same thing to try and take down the then WWF. I don't really see it like that, because WCW was always live, and at that point WCW posed an actual threat. TNA doesn't even come close. But, here's how it breaks down in my own little Arbitron head.

1. People who watch WWE and not TNA- These people will never flip over and watch TNA, if they do it might be during a WWE commercial break but past that they won't give it much mind. Their TVs will be on USA, and will not budge.

2. People who watch TNA and not WWE-These people didn't watch Raw at all, so this will change nothing for them as well. They just have to remember that Impact will be on Mondays instead of Thursday. These are the people that already watch Impact, so this won't affect Raw or Impact anyway.

3. People who watch BOTH WWE and TNA- Of course, this is where the fissure starts. This is what TNA has done, forcing their viewers to make a choice as to what they want to watch. Back when WCW did this, it was much more serious because back then for the most part if you didn't watch it, you missed it. That's why back in the day, the Nitro move to live against Raw was such a shot across the bow. Now, in the world of the DVR and the Tivo, you can alternate shows each week, or you can just pick your favorite and record the other. Will this hurt numbers? Will this help? To be honest I doubt it does anything.

The final judgment is the same. Raw will draw 3+ unless they start REALLY tanking, and that's more than possible but not predicted to happen. Impact will continue to draw between 1-2, as they have for the past year or so. Now, TNA has the most to gain and lose in this move. They won't, however, gain a damn thing unless their product improves. WWE I don't see being affected one damn bit in this. TNA will have to make the moves, and I don't see it happening. The best thing about this, and what everyone is forgetting, is a repeat of what happened in the Monday Night Wars. The product of both WWE and WCW went up twenty and thirty fold, and we got some great wrestling until WCW ran into the iceberg. This is possible, and that's the ideal situation. TNA and WWE both improve their product, and maybe TNA cracks a 2 within 18-24 months. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Time will tell if TNA and Dixie Hogan will realize this.

[Bubba JD]

i also remember WCW doing replays later in the night, for those who might've missed the show. this was especially true for Nitro.


i think there's at least a couple big differences that we're forgetting. first, WCW had major backing from Ted Turner, in the form of an open check book. when WCW needed more money, Turner was pretty good about just letting them have free reign of the money. this held the most truth during Bischoff's reign of terror.

TNA doesn't have the same level of financing......not even close. Panda Energy isn't of the size that the Turner had. because of this, i can't see Panda Energy willingly taking the same risks that WCW did.

if you're going to win a war, you have to be ready, willing & able to take certain risks.

another advantage that WCW had is that it was essentially formed out of a group of already existing promotions in the NWA. the Crocketts had taken time gaining control over certain territories, running the mid-atlantic/georgia/florida territories. this eventually became the dominant group of the NWA. this led to WCW, as we know it.

TNA, on the other hand, was a fresh promotion that had loose connections to the NWA, starting somewhere in 2002-2003. while they've had the time to become established, they've managed to walk away from what made them so popular, in the early years. instead of focusing on the younger, fresher talent who still have talent, TNA is resorting to hiring the old fuckers that should've been put out to pasture decades ago.

[freak]

Well, apparently Impact didn't do as well as some of you thought. Between 1 and 2? Try 0.98.

[Hollywood]

Mar 12, 2010 15:13:09 GMT -6 freak said:

Well, apparently Impact didn't do as well as some of you thought. Between 1 and 2? Try 0.98.

Uhhhh... it's a tough deal, pal.

[Bubba JD]

TNA did worse then i expected. i figured they'd gain a 1.2, but nothing as low as a 0.98. guess the funeral is starting early.

[freak]

I must say, Impact did a lot better than I thought. I mean, 0.98 is bad when you can't make even the slightest dent in a continually stale Raw, but I figured it was gonna be something like an 0.5 or an 0.6.

Apparently the Hogan-Flair to-do was the lowest draw of the night.

[Bubba JD]

kinda reminds me of an episode of south park. you can choose the turd sandwich or the giant douche. either way, the options suck.

Hogan/Flair getting the lowest rating? who would've thunk it possible?

[Chris Angel]

I know TNA keeps saying they've learnt and are doing things differently (well mostly Bischoff and Hogan), but I cant help but get the feeling that nothing much has really change from what WCW used to do.

[Bubba JD]

agreed. TNA, in my mind, is nothing more then WCW-Lite.

[freak]

And has been that way since the move to Spike.

I was once an Impact watcher back when the show was on FSN (albeit sporadically) and when you could catch it online- it actually seemed like a solid program. But once they moved, everything just got lost in translation.

[Chris Angel]

Besides, Im pretty sure 'doing it different' didnt mean bringing it guys like Hall and X-Pac and god almighty, the Nasty Boys, or Nasty Grandpas IMO.

Seems like they're stockpiling all the more well known guys, like Flair and Foley into their programming to steal some viewership from the WWE.

I feel bad, for the original talent in TNA.