TNA VS. WWE...IS IT TIME?

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May 15, 2009
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As officially announced yesterday, TNA will be moving Impact to a Monday night timeslot on SpikeTV, going head to head with WWE Raw on the USA Network. The initial plan is for Impact to be broadcast live every other week, with a taped episode on the alternating week, going up against the always live Raw. Ever since Hulk Hogan came to TNA, it has been said repeatedly that his goal was to bring TNA to Monday night, and in less than three months, it has come to pass. The question now becomes, is TNA ready for this challenge?

Looking at both shows, and the timing of this decision, several factors immediately jump out.

- TNA will be "moving in" during WWE's peak period. Wrestlemania will only be a few weeks away when March 8th rolls in, and traditionally WWE has had their strongest Raw broadcasts, both from a storyline and action standpoint, in the weeks leading to their biggest event of the year. This means TNA Impact will be competing with the "best stuff" WWE has to offer, which could make it difficult to pull viewers away from USA Network. At the same time, WWE's audience will never be greater, meaning there will be a lot more "channel surfers" during commercial breaks that could potentially stop to check out the "other" wrestling show.

- TV-PG vs. TV-14. WWE has toned down the racier aspects of their programming, and whether it is because of Linda McMahon's political aspirations, the new toy deal with Mattel, or a combination of both, it is very obvious that there is a lot less "attitude" than there once was. Sure, there is the occasional innuendo or joke tossed about, but the days of Diva lingerie magazines, swimsuit DVDs, blatant sexual content, extreme violence and bloodshed is over (for now). Over on SpikeTV (a channel that seems to love innuendo and sexual content in their shows), you literally have women pointing at their rear ends while straddling the middle rope so the camera man can get behind them and zoom in for a crotch shot. While the audience is asked to refrain from cursing, you'll hear a steady stream of bleeps coming from their performers. Blood, barbed wire, tables? You got it. There is an obvious philosophical difference in how the two products are being presented at this point, and that could benefit (or hurt) TNA, depending on your preferences.

- The only person to ever beat Vince McMahon is working for TNA. Love him or hate him, the simple fact is that Eric Bischoff is the only person to ever present a wrestling product head-to-head with WWE and win. Yes, he had "Ted Turner's money" to back him up, but people don't tune into a show because of who writes the checks. Bischoff led WCW to their most successful period ever, and that should not be discounted just because of the mistakes that were made with the company later on. TNA has national television exposure, a network that is willing to go into battle on Monday nights, and apparently the financial resources to bring in (and hopefully keep) a large roster of talent. These are the same tools that Bischoff started with in WCW.

- TNA has six months to win over that coveted male demographic before cable's biggest monster returns. It can't be denied that when it comes to grabbing men from the age of 15 to 85, the one cable program that can't be beat is Monday Night Football. Even boring games do monster ratings when compared to other cable fare. We've also seen in the past how wrestling can sometimes take a beating as men gravitate away from wrestling for a few months during football season. By moving to Mondays now, TNA has a chance to win over as much of the audience as possible before there is a third option being presented to their viewers.

- Time waits for no man, brother. How much "juice" does Hulk Hogan have left? With every year that passes, the generation that remembers Hulk Hogan as a wrestling superstar, as opposed to a reality TV mainstay, gets a little older, and the audience gets a little smaller. The same holds true for those that remember Ric Flair when he was wrestling for World Championships, not talking about how many he held. The longer TNA waits to use their remaining popularity to create a foothold on Monday nights, the more it diminishes. To get the biggest return on these investments, they need to be capitalized on immediately.

- WWE is at a crossroads with their "superstars" at the top. Rock and Austin are gone. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are nearing the end of their storied careers. Triple H will be the only remaining headliner from the "Attitude" era, and Chris Jericho seems to be the only wrestler interested in truly making new stars. When it comes to young headliners, there is John Cena and... well, that's it. Edge, Batista and Rey Mysterio, for all their popularity, have all missed large chunks of time with injuries, forcing WWE to survive without them. However, there is a lot of talent bubbling under the surface at the moment. Randy Orton looks to finally be fulfilling his potential and there is a slew of young talent like Sheamus, CM Punk, Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston and others who, with the right storylines, could be seen as permanent main eventers. It is in TNA's best interest to strike now, before WWE finally utilizes the younger members of their roster.

- Numbers don't lie. The highest rating TNA has ever garnered for SpikeTV was on Monday night, going against Raw. None of the Thursday broadcasts have done as well as that show. That, more than anything else, should be reason enough to make the permanent move now.
 
Oct 3, 2006
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once that bitch linda loses the senate race which she most likely will, i hope they go back to at the least a TV14 rating or somethin, this pg rating aint cuttin it if TNA gonna be TV14....
 
Feb 8, 2003
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Thing is edge, rey mysterio, cm punk, john morrison, randy orton, edge, kofi is better then anyone in tna.


imo only real star tna has now is the Pope thats it bc they dropped the ball on aj styles, samoa joe, angle, anderson(they let him get beat too quickly he hasnt even been there longer then a month)



people gotta realize wrestling or the economy isnt what it used to be back in the 90's not to mention most tna talent(hogan,hall, nash, nasty boys) are washed up and too old. sometimes tna reminds me of a poor sequel to that movie the wrestler.


honestly both shows wont be doing that much better ratings if anything wwe will stilll be the top organzation bc they have more resources and money for better shows and promo.
 
Oct 3, 2006
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real shit^ its hard to imagine nowadays that before raws and nitros would get 5.0-6.0 in ratings, average and on the occasion 7.0's easily...not they struggle to get 3.7's and 1.4's lol..hopefully NXT will be something fun to watch
 
Jun 9, 2007
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More reason to not tune in to TNA:

- TNA newcomer Orlando Jordan kissed a man prior to his match with Samoa Joe at last night’s iMPACT taping in Orlando. The former WWE United States Champion was escorted to the ring by a man and a woman. He had his arms around both of them and kissed each prior to his match.

This reportedly didn’t go over well with everyone backstage in TNA as some felt the company “crossed the line” as it were. One TNA performer offered the opinion that the angle will turn off viewers from Spike considering it’s specifically geared towards men.

It’s worth noting that before Jordan’s release from World Wrestling Entertainment in May 2006, there were creative plans for him to be repackaged with a bisexual gimmick in a storyline involving former TNA performer Stephanie Finochio (a/k/a Trinity) and a friend of his with no prior background in the wrestling industry. While bisexuality is considered taboo in some wrestling circles, it was passed for Jordan since it’s his lifestyle in the real world. It should be noted that the storyline was Jordan’s idea because creative had no plans for him at the time.
 
Jan 18, 2006
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real shit^ its hard to imagine nowadays that before raws and nitros would get 5.0-6.0 in ratings, average and on the occasion 7.0's easily...not they struggle to get 3.7's and 1.4's lol..hopefully NXT will be something fun to watch
Ya, noone I know really watches wrestling anymore. They all say the say the same thing it sucks now. Just goes to show how good rock and stone cold really were, also nwo. I have watched tna a lot more then I have been so maybe hogan coming has helped as far as the viewers who love wrestling whether its wack or not but tna is flat out boring and wwe definitely has way better wrestlers even if there not so great on the Mic or there storylines suck.
 
May 24, 2002
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More reason to not tune in to TNA:

- TNA newcomer Orlando Jordan kissed a man prior to his match with Samoa Joe at last night’s iMPACT taping in Orlando. The former WWE United States Champion was escorted to the ring by a man and a woman. He had his arms around both of them and kissed each prior to his match.

This reportedly didn’t go over well with everyone backstage in TNA as some felt the company “crossed the line” as it were. One TNA performer offered the opinion that the angle will turn off viewers from Spike considering it’s specifically geared towards men.

It’s worth noting that before Jordan’s release from World Wrestling Entertainment in May 2006, there were creative plans for him to be repackaged with a bisexual gimmick in a storyline involving former TNA performer Stephanie Finochio (a/k/a Trinity) and a friend of his with no prior background in the wrestling industry. While bisexuality is considered taboo in some wrestling circles, it was passed for Jordan since it’s his lifestyle in the real world. It should be noted that the storyline was Jordan’s idea because creative had no plans for him at the time.
I am gay.
I dont care who knows about it.

I also understand what its like to have to hide that fact. I am glad he is open about his sexuality and doesnt give a fuck!


Who you choose to fuck doesnt really make any difference in your in ring skills. If you are hating on him just because of who he fucks then you are an idiot. end of story

While being open about your sexuality is very taboo in wrestling you have to understand that their are A LOT of gay wrestlers on WWEs pay roll and in wrestling in general just none of them are open about it because it would kill their career. Ric Flair did a shoot talking about it without naming any names.

this is a sport where men oil down and wrestle in tiny tights


Also, John Cena got a big boner wrestling santino


just saying....