The first shot was fired, but was it a successful one? Hulk Hogan debuted in TNA wrestling a couple Monday nights ago and proved his new company belonged on the big stage. TNA pulled down an impressive 1.7 rating in its two-hour Monday night debut. In contrast, the next week, Spike TV’s top show UFC pulled a 1.5 going against “Monday Night Raw.” Spike TV executives took notice of this all-time best TNA “Impact” rating and have reportedly decided on throwing TNA on the regular Monday night schedule starting in the next few months. The rumored time slot is for 8 to 10 p.m.
So what has gone on since Hogan’s arrival? There has been a lot of upheaval in the organization. Jeff Hardy signed a deal with TNA, Orlando Jordan is now on board, Scott Hall and 6-Pac are around for a little while, and the one and only Ric Flair signed a one-year contract with the company. To top it off, Mr. Kennedy, now known as Mr. Anderson, made his TNA debut last week at the “Genesis” PPV. Even the Nasty Boys came out of retirement to put in a couple months of work. With Eric Bischoff helping Hogan run TNA, anything is possible.
Where is TNA going now that Hogan has arrived? The six-sided ring is gone and the company is in a major transition period. It is going to take a couple PPV’s to really get a feel for what TNA is going to become. Right now, their thought is to put on really good wrestling sprinkled in with some old favorites who know how to entertain the fans. That cannot last forever and Hogan knows it. He has to build up guys like A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe into believable stars. One thing Hogan knows is how to become a star.
The WWE combated Hogan’s arrival with an old favorite of their own in Bret “the Hitman” Hart. The Sixshooter watched both returns and has to say the Bret Hart arrival was not treated the right way. It should have been a surprise. It looked and felt like the WWE was just wheeling him out there to keep people from watching TNA. The WWE was going to win that night’s rating without Hart’s involvement. People have been assimilated to watch that show every week. It will take months of Monday night competition to even make a dent.
And what is Bret Hart going to really do in the WWE? He can no longer wrestle because of multiple head injuries, and he is not really in shape. As soon as this was announced, the Sixshooter thought it would end up with Michaels vs. the Undertaker at Wrestlemania with Hart being the guest referee. My thought has not changed. Somehow this will end up happening, you can bank on it. And this idea is a mistake because one thing that was awesome last year…was that Michaels/Undertaker match. What a classic, why change it in any fashion?
The WWE films division is in for some upheaval. Mr. McMahon himself is going to be taking over the division. This has disaster written all over it. WWE shows cannot flow well because of constant re-writing by McMahon. And judging by the selection of guest hosts that were relevant 5-10 years ago…he does not have the sound judgment to understand what people want to see now. Poor John Cena, run away and pull a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson while you still can.
RVD is still toying with the idea of a wrestling return. What organization he chooses is a mystery to everyone. RVD reportedly likes the idea of a WWE return, but he does not like their full-time schedule. The WWE has been dead set against giving RVD a shorter schedule, so that looks like a dead-end. Mr. Monday Night has toyed with the idea of joining TNA, but they will have to blow him away with a high-money deal to get him. According to sources, RVD is not too enamored with the younger talent in TNA. If RVD does not feel like his return will be “important”, he will not return. TNA would have to up the ante and promise a world title run. The Sixshooter has a feeling, at some point this will happen.
Well that is all for this month Sixshooter-a-holics. You can check me out daily over at http://www.garden-state-of-mind.blogspot.com or you can find me on twitter at http://twitter.com/Matthew_Guerra. As the legendary Ric Flair says, “Whether you like it or not, it’s the best thing going today.”