The Monday Night Wars - Round 2?

[Xero]

From PWInsider:

The hulk Hogan announcement tonight will be that TNA will be airing a three hour special on 1/4/10 from the Impact Zone, so for at least one night, the Monday Night Wars return.

Eric Bischoff is in Las Vegas as well and is sitting cage side with Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter. I am told the usual Hulk Hogan entourage (Jimmy Hart, Brutus Beefcake, etc) are with Hogan, but may not be appearing on camera.
=====

I'm guessing that this is their test episode and if, at the very least, they don't drop in ratings, they'll move to Mondays.


UPDATE: (Also from PWInsider)
During the Ultimate Fighter Finale, Joe Rogan interviewed Hulk Hogan, who sounded like he was fighting off a sore throat. Hogan said he was a UFC fan and that the fighters tonight were "going to war."

Rogan pointed out Hulk Hogan had signed with TNA as Dixie Carter's new partner. Hogan put over SpikeTV and said they had "just gotten the word" that TNA will be going "head to head" with WWE on Monday Nights on 1/4. Hogan said he was there to "take over" and you'd "never know when the old man with the yellow boots" will get back into the ring.

Dixie Carter was shown watching during the announcement, but did not speak.

TNA sources have confirmed the timeslot for the special will be 8 PM Eastern. An official press release is forthcoming.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

It'll be interesting. I'm really curious to see what Vince will pull out to counter it... Whether or not people will stick with TNA is one thing, but honestly, you know people will tune in to see Hogan.

[Jordan]

Wow that is awesome. I really am pulling for TNA here, I hope they put on a great show that night. I feel like if they can spread the word then people are bound to switch the channel.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

That hour head start is huge. That's what got me into Nitro.

[el bobbo]

Man, it's going to be so hard for them because WWE has such a huge corporate infrastructure and marketing machine.

I hope that TNA can really focus their product into something fantastic. They have the basic ideas they need down, but they just need that extra "something" to make it work. Hopefully the product will relay and beat whatever money WWE is throwing at their tired old schtick (Raw).

[DAMN iNATOR]

Well, assuming Rock's still on for the 1/4 RAW, if that is the case, I don't see many people switching over to TNA, tbh.

[TGR]

I hope it works. The wrestling industry needs this more than Vince wants to admit.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I'm just hoping they don't do something stupid like "I know what'll get ratings, lets give Hulk the X-division title!"

[Xero]

Yeah, obviously he needs to bury AJ.

Actually, I could EASILY see Hogan as the Legends champion. If he's going to win a title, that would be my first pick. (Though it's like choosing between puke (Legends), shit (X), and puke-covered shit (World).)

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Nash turns on EY, jacknifes him, Nash wins the belt, Hogan shows up, finger poke of Doom, and then the NWO reforms. Jarrett shows up to stop them, only to actually be part of them.... only to be pulling a trick on them because he's against them.... only to actually be on their side at the end of the show.

Then Hornswoggle shows up at dumps the cruiserweight title in the garbage, and wins the X division title that night.

BOOK IT!

[Xero]

lol maybe Angle and Jarrett are going to join the TnWo and it'll be revealed the whole Jarrett/Karen thing was a work.

Now there's an idea Bischoff would get behind.

[kareru]

this is what we have been talking about guys, a new monday night war, this is going to be awesome, maybe we might get to see some great wrestling shows as a result

[Xero]

Or maybe we'll see TNA fall flat on its face.

If Vince actually wanted to put an effort into quashing TNA he could easily put it together and own the night.

The thing is, if he did this, it'd show he does see TNA as a threat, and he'd be hard-pressed to admit that.

[kareru]

we should all hope that tna does do well on that night, like watching tna or not they are needed especially in a competitive sense

[Xero]

Are they needed? Not really. Yeah, it'd help, but realistically, TNA has been on Spike, what, 3 years at least, and are still barely breaking the 1 barrier. No where near WWE's ratings level. They barely beat SuperStars this week.

Unless they start pulling 2s and 3s out of their asses and WWE loses viewership, nothing will change.

[kareru]

and that is what hogan is there for apparently

[Xero]

And if Hogan draws them in then leaves, leaving the company a mess, what good is it?

[kareru]

how big of a mess could he possibly get them into, after all he's not running the thing,actually i have no idea what his role is, but even just by being part of the company will bring in the ratings, think about this people would tune in just to watch his life they may want to watch just for hogan, you know the people they are not wrestling fans just hogan fans.

[Xero]

The rumor I've heard is that he has power equal to Dixie at least.

[Tazz Dan]

I'm calling Mr. Anderson to open the show. :y:



















Anderson

[Jordan]

I think Anderson attacked AJ

[Godfather4Life]

I say TNA folds in five years and Vince will own them too!

[TerranRich]

I hope it works. The wrestling industry needs this more than Vince wants to admit.

THIS. Also, this definitely feels like a trial run. I hope TNA's successful, for the sake of wrestling fans everywhere. MNW gave us quality TV, gave both feds killer ratings, and gave wrestling fans memories for years to come.

[The MAC]

you know what

i hope tna pulls a really good rating. That will fuck up Vinces day and give tna more confidence and drive to succeed. They just need to open up with a surprise like "mr anderson" to get the ball rolling

[Mr. Nerfect]

I want TNA to do well with this. TNA has been quite enjoyable lately, and if it just leads tot he WWE putting more effort in -- more power to them.

I have a feeling that the WWE's "retort" to this will be "all three brands will appear." And The Rock will guest host. But I expect Vince to put a little extra effort in in the following weeks. Perhaps some sort of cool program for the Rumble. Something that gets people excited. A fresh challenger for John Cena who doesn't seem so "random."

[Londoner]

I think many will want TNA to do well, which is why this one off thing may be a good idea, if the show is good enough. It'll definitely keep the writers of raw thinking. And anything to keep those dickheads thinking is a good idea imo.

[Rammsteinmad]

I'm definitely pulling for TNA on this one, but in all fairness I don't really get too excited about anything that has the words HULK HOGAN in it.

[Swiss Ultimate]

Honestly, if I were Dixie Carter I wouldn't want to go into direct competition with Vince. Sure there's the possibility that I'd steal fans from him during the battle but, Vince could easily buy out TNA's roster if it so desired. If the style of wrestling was preferred he'd just buy out ROH and beat TNA at their own game. He has all the options...

[The Pope]

Mr. Kennedy and RVD have to Debut on that episode.

[Londoner]

I personally don't give a fuck about mr.kennedy, RVD on the other hand...:y:

[Anybody Thrilla]

I'll watch the first hour, but then I'm watching Raw when it starts, just like the old Monday Night War.

[Londoner]

I very much hope they do the monday night war thing over here to, sadly though i think they'll just show tna on fridays/saturdays like normal.:((i guess cause of the timezone differences)

[Anybody Thrilla]

I very much hope they do the monday night war thing over here to, sadly though i think they'll just show tna on fridays/saturdays like normal.:((i guess cause of the timezone differences)

So what? Even if both of the shows aren't on at the same time for you, if both shows really stepped their games up, you could watch both products without having to make a decision. Sounds pretty good to me.

[TGR]

And even if TNA gets crushed, it'll get crushed because WWE has a better product and/or stepped up their game.

This is a win-win scenario for fans, I reckon

[Londoner]

So what? Even if both of the shows aren't on at the same time for you, if both shows really stepped their games up, you could watch both products without having to make a decision. Sounds pretty good to me.

true, i just like the idea of the two shows going head to head.

[Jordan]

I'm going to predict a rating somewhere in the high 1.0's, maybe 1.7 and they would round that up to 2.0. However if Impact can score higher than 2.0 I think they would move Impact to Monday's in March.

[The Gold Standard]

I hope it works, but in order for it to work, TNA needs to be a show that I feel compelled to watch, and right now, that is not happening.

They should revamp Impact until after Wrestlemania, and see where they stand then, try out Monday night shows.

[Londoner]

I hope it works, but in order for it to work, TNA needs to be a show that I feel compelled to watch, and right now, that is not happening.

.

Trust me, TNA is worth watching atm, even though its hard to keep track of who is heel or face if you miss just one show.

[Xero]

I'm hating TNA's heavy deal on the worked shoot. I love a good worked shoot, but they bring a shoot into every fucking promo it seems.

Yeah, I chalk it up to Russo...

I'm starting to watch Impact but eh, it's just not "there" to me. They're missing something, and Hogan being there is NOT it.

[The MAC]

you know what,

hogan may actually be the right element. Despite what people think of hogan he does know how to make an impact in the world of wrestling. I think its a good thing his personal life went down the drain so now he can focus on work instead of worrying about his ex-wifes 50 year old cunt juices sliding down a 19 year old cock.

[Xero]

Oh, for main stream, I do think Hogan CAN do wonders, assuming he doesn't fuck the company up from the inside out.

For me, though, it's the last thing I want.

[Londoner]

the last thing they should do is give hogan any title whatsoever.

[The MAC]

if they go all out on this monday night thing. week 1: RVD surprise debut . Week2: Kennedy, week 3: flair ,week 4: um..well you get the picture. I know its only one month but this one month will light a fire under vince.

[Londoner]

Don't think they should have established guys coming in that regularly, it would fuck up the talent they've got.

[Xero]

The current talent pool is fucked no matter how you look at it. If this is a full-on war, they'll be bringing in more established guys at a more rapid pace. It won't hurt the established main eventers too bad, but the undercard, I think, will be affected.

[The MAC]

well I do see your point but they need to hook the viewer each and every week. Initially people will want to tune in to see their old favorites so use this interest to push the talent they got now with well thought out angles that build in tension and drama.


I'm still waiting to see how Bischoff fits into all this. I hope he is more than just a deal maker for TNA.

[Jordan]

if they go all out on this monday night thing. week 1: RVD surprise debut . Week2: Kennedy, week 3: flair ,week 4: um..well you get the picture. I know its only one month but this one month will light a fire under vince.

I had that idea too, only it was for PPV's so they could have a big draw match with a newcomer like Anderson, Flair, RVD,

But it would be cool if at some point on the first episode Mr. Monday Night makes his debut in TNA and wins a good match. That would be sweet.

TNA is loaded as it is with workers that are good enough however, some I could care less about. (Team 3-D, Rhino, and Beer Money) Although I know that their not going anywhere.

I think it may be probable that if TNA goes to Monday's it will become a three hour program every week. Mostly because of their big roster, and lack of other shows. It would be well balances with the Knockouts, X, Global, and Tag Division and main event stars like Styles, Daniels, Angle, Joe, Sting (maybe), RVD (perharps), Kennedy (likely) and Jarett.

I like the feel of it all, I am really hoping TNA kicks some ass. The reason is, when I watch Impact (which I really just started watching full episodes) the ratio of good wrestling to bad wrestling is a lot better than WWE's and the ratio of wrestling is a lot more. So there ya go.

[Xero]

well I do see your point but they need to hook the viewer each and every week. Initially people will want to tune in to see their old favorites so use this interest to push the talent they got now with well thought out angles that build in tension and drama.


I'm still waiting to see how Bischoff fits into all this. I hope he is more than just a deal maker for TNA.


That's my fear, though. I'm afraid that once they see that bringing guys in works (and right now, it may actually work if they bring in big names on a regular basis) they'll just focus on them. It's happened with TNA before, and just as they get their shit together pushing their own talent ALONGSIDE the veteran talent this whole thing is going down.

[Jordan]

I really hope this Hogan thing isn't leading to a NWO reunion of sorts. Nash did say "The band is getting back together". I know there will be some sort of stable but it really needs to be different than the NWO.

[Thriller]

Heres a thought

Since it was annouced on UFC and both UFC and TNA are on Spike does anyone else see the possibility of Brock Lesner making an appereance?

[James Steele]

Brock is busy trying to not die right now.

[Xero]

Next week on TNA: Exclusive footage of Brock Lesnar's surgery!

[Loose Cannon]

awesome. Monday Night is really the only night I can watch wrestling. hopefully they pull off a great show and get themselves a decent number.

I have not watched TNA in about 2 months though.

[Theo Dious]

If TNA wants this to work, they better be ready with something fresh and exciting. They're not going to be able to stand toe-to-toe with WWE with what has passed for business as usual for the past five years or so.

[The MAC]

they need to get a little more dirty and sleazy. Attract that audience that vince did. Put some god damn T an A in TNA. WWE is PG so i say go the other fucking way. Lets see some titties

[RGWhat316]

Im usually not one to support TNA, but if this makes Vince actually care more about his product and steps it up some, then I am all for it.

[USAUSA1]

Put it this way, without Hogan this special would of not happen. Hogan did more in 2 months than JJ/Angle/Foley/Sting did in years for TNA. Hogan is no joke, even UFC fighters was tweeting "Forget the fight,am sitting close to Hogan" on UFC website. Hogan was the highlight of the show last night.

SPIKE is heavily behind this show.

1/4 is a good date. The Rock cannot host Raw that day. No football, Raw is stuck in neutral it's nothing they can do to make Raw exciting. Cena vs. Orton, Cena vs. HBk, how many times you seen that match up.

Raw will win the ratings war regardless but that's not the point for TNA. TNA is coming with a brand new product with brand new management and want to get the most attention possible. LIVE on MONDAY NIGHT is the best night possible.

TNA should do a LIVE special on Wrestlemania night as well. We in a recession. I don't think the last Mania crack the top 5 in ppv buyrates,imagine next year in a weaker economy. If you would tell me, TNA is doing a LIVE special on Wrestlemania night on Spike, I would watch TNA instead of wasting $60.

[RaginRonic]

My e-mail to The Score about TNA's news from the Canadian perspective...

'Hi.

I read a story on the Internet tonight regarding a major announcement about a future wrestling TV broadcast coming up on Jan. 4, 2010...a Monday night. Now, this might seem a little convoluted at first to you, so I hope I don't screw up what I'm about to type.

As we all know, back from 1995-2001, the pro wrestling world had the 'Monday Night Wars', the high-powered TV ratings battle between the WWF and WCW. It was a really big time for anyone to be a wrestling fan.... ....except here in Canada.

Basically, what happened was that the same TV channel (TSN) had both WWF Raw and WCW Nitro on it's schedule, but on different days. Only Raw was televised live, while Nitro had to be aired on Wednesday afternoons/evenings. As a result, us here in Canada never got the opportunity to engage in that ratings battle, and frankly, that was not really good at all. With that said, I found another news item about what could happen on WWE's end that night.

Now, with that said, I really believe that The Score has an opportunity here to help make up for what didn't happen back in the 1990s and early 2000s here in Canada. With Spike TV already airing TNA Impact, and The Score airing WWE Raw, I think it would be cool(provided WWE bites and makes that Jan. 4, 2010 edition of Raw 3 hours to match as well) if you started WWE Monday Night Raw on Jan. 4, 2010 at 8PM EST, and, for that one special night, abandon the 15-minute countdown show.

That way, for likely the first and only time that it would happen in Canada, those who watch wrestling here could have the choice of which show to watch, as opposed to either...

a] having The Score take a misstep by starting Raw at 9PM, losing an hour's worth of viewers to Spike from 8-9:15PM...

or b] WWE trying to obtain a monopoly on Canadian TV if The Score asked to have Spike blacked out in Canada while the 3-hour Impact was airing, taking away Canadian's right to choose either show to watch.

I really do want to have the choice, on that night, to see which show would come out on top. And, if The Score would take itself out of it's own way, and throws out it's usual broadcast plans for Raw, and starts at 8PM EST instead of 9:15PM, and has Mr. Sansone air after Raw instead, as a 15-minute review show, that Jan. 4, 2010 could be the best night in wrestling history north of the border.

I'm just hoping I'm heard, and that you guys can keep up and respond fairly to all this. Canadian wrestling fans want to make the choice on their own, and aren't really receptive to monopolies on one wrestling company favored over the other. Thanks for reading this. I hope you'll reply in some fashion to this.'

The reply was a bit network generic, though.

'Thanks for your email, this is a very interesting development. We haven't heard anything on this yet from our partners at WWE but we will definitely be waiting with interest.

Based on the story you sent, it seems like TNA will go back to Thursday nights after the January 4th special.

We will leave our options open for January 4th and do the best we can for WWE fans.

Thanks again,
Greg Sansone
VP, Television
Score Media Inc.'

[Theo Dious]

Put it this way, without Hogan this special would of not happen. Hogan did more in 2 months than JJ/Angle/Foley/Sting did in years for TNA. Hogan is no joke, even UFC fighters was tweeting "Forget the fight,am sitting close to Hogan" on UFC website. Hogan was the highlight of the show last night.


True enough, but while Hogan is good for spikes of interest, I doybt he'll be able to lift TNA to any kind of sustained height.

[Dante69]

I think they should have a Dixie Carter-Christy Hemme-Velvet Sky orgy in the middle of the ring......4.0 in the ratings...LOL

[J Dogg Funk]

I for one really hopes that TNA pulls a great number. To me, WWE has gotten, stale, lazy, predictable, vanilla, etc, etc, etc. Maybe is some actually gives them a kick in the ass, we can begin to see some more creativity and finally lose this stupid PG rating stuff, and go back to the way things were. At least TNA seems to want to push the boundries a put and try new things.

[Indifferent Clox]

Yeah, people who don't like TNA haven't watched TNA in months

[Indifferent Clox]

I bet ROH starts at 7 that night

[The Mackem]

I wonder if he'll do the TV ratings spike trick he used to pull off in WCW so well. I don't know, I hope Hogan in TNA on screen as a wrestler is a short term thing. Anything else surely should be less destructive.

[Xero]

You know, after watching Impact and Nash's promo, I'm 90% certain we're going to see the nWo in TNA. I could see it being Nash, Hall, Hogan, X Pac and a few others from the get-go.

Though they can't use the name, if it happens, I hope they do put the money out for Rockhouse.

[Wolfpack423]

I like both companies, but the thing is they are replaying the Impact on Thursday, so I won't have to watch it if I don't want, just the first hour. If the matches are as epic as some of the Turning Point matches, I may have to check it out. I am looking forward to Hogan's debut, BUT if the Rock is hosting that night I will not switch over to TNA.

[Jordan]

I am sure Hogan will wrestle a few times, but he has made it clear that he is not going there to be in ring but to run the show.

[Loose Cannon]

You know, after watching Impact and Nash's promo, I'm 90% certain we're going to see the nWo in TNA. I could see it being Nash, Hall, Hogan, X Pac and a few others from the get-go.

Though they can't use the name, if it happens, I hope they do put the money out for Rockhouse.

dam, I missed this. did this promo air this past week? what did he say? i'll have to find it online

[Outsider]

I just don't see the sense is going against another show in the ratings? Why would you do that? You might hurt their ratings, but you are also going to hurt yours!

Competition is good (for the viewer) when the two sides can actually compete, but I worry this might just be a blood bath.

But from a business sense, I just don't get it.

[kareru]

i think they might be feigning in bringing back the nwo i mean wwe own that copyright but we may see an nwo type stable in tna, maybe thats why they got rid of the mem so abruptly.

[Kane Knight]

I just hope the new Monday Night Wars are every bit as good as the New and Improved DX, the new nWo, and treated with the same level of innovation as everything else wrestling has brought back from the 90s.

[el bobbo]

Why is everyone talking about RVD going to TNA? I might be out of the loop here. Anyone have any links to the story?

RVD, after Rock and Austin, was my favorite wrestler/character from back in the day. He still trains hard as hell and has a true passion for the industry. Unfortunately he also likes to get "blazed" which isn't "tolerated" at WWE.

Maybe he can be the token pothead who kicks ass on TNA!

[Indifferent Clox]

I don't think this is exactly the same as any of those. Both are done by the same people 10 years later, this is a new group going against thesame people ten years later. the problem with the new dx and teh new nwo is both of thsoe things are "the new" version of an old thing with the same people. You see whati'm saying.

[Indifferent Clox]

It is tolerated in WWE.


RVD is going to be at PWG's Kurt Russelmania

[el bobbo]

I just hope the new Monday Night Wars are every bit as good as the New and Improved DX, the new nWo, and treated with the same level of innovation as everything else wrestling has brought back from the 90s.

Which incarnation of the "new and improved" DX. Because it just keeps getting better and better. Especially with Shawn Michaels being a born again fundie.

[Kane Knight]

I don't think this is exactly the same as any of those. Both are done by the same people 10 years later, this is a new group going against thesame people ten years later. the problem with the new dx and teh new nwo is both of thsoe things are "the new" version of an old thing with the same people. You see whati'm saying.

*facedesk*

[Xero]

dam, I missed this. did this promo air this past week? what did he say? i'll have to find it online
Yeah, it was this week. He was going back and forth with Foley about Hogan and said something to the effect of "I need to make a few calls, we're looking to get the band back together".

[Xero]

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8pw42PNKPGg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8pw42PNKPGg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

Can't get it to load right now but I'm pretty sure it's in this video. Just after the Nash/Young vs Beer Money match.

[Indifferent Clox]

I remember this.

[Dante69]

OWO....The Old World Order= Hogan,Nash,Steiner,Jarrett,Sting,3-D,Rhino,Angle,Foley and bring in Savage,Hall, X-Pac,Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart

[XL]

There seem to be a lot of guys around these parts that are hoping for a good TNA rating. Tell me, will you be watching TNA - and TNA alone - that night? Or will you be switching back and forth to "relive the MNW era"?

[taker707]

Ryan Clark AKA " The Douche":

From talking to people in WWE, there is said to be “pretty much no concern whatsoever” in regards to TNA’s iMPACT! going head-to-head with Monday Night RAW on January 4, 2010. There is such little concern about TNA that WWE is not even looking to move RAW to three hours, though there is talk of lining up a strong guest host for the first two weeks of the new year.

Among those in WWE, the general feeling is that TNA president Dixie Carter is “incredibly naïve” and that TNA is in for a massive disappointment come January 5th when the ratings come in.

On another note, those on the WWE side were happy in the sense that Hulk Hogan mentioned them during last Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter finale because they got free publicity out of it.

[Tb1]

LOL aka The Douche LOL

[Londoner]

Ryan Clark AKA " The Douche":

From talking to people in WWE, there is said to be “pretty much no concern whatsoever” in regards to TNA’s iMPACT! going head-to-head with Monday Night RAW on January 4, 2010. There is such little concern about TNA that WWE is not even looking to move RAW to three hours, though there is talk of lining up a strong guest host for the first two weeks of the new year.

Among those in WWE, the general feeling is that TNA president Dixie Carter is “incredibly naïve” and that TNA is in for a massive disappointment come January 5th when the ratings come in.

On another note, those on the WWE side were happy in the sense that Hulk Hogan mentioned them during last Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter finale because they got free publicity out of it.

Lol, as if wwe needs anymore publicity. :roll: omgz they got mentioned omgz