Jumping The Shark

Or maybe it's too much too soon. It's official. TNA Impact! is moving to Monday Night on March 8th. Entertainment industry publication Variety is reporting that TNA Wrestling is set to announce on Monday that it's flagship TNA iMPACT! show is moving to Monday nights starting March 8th. According to Variety.com, iMPACT! will air head-to-head with WWE RAW for 2 hours, from 9-11 p.m. (Eastern time) and will be live every other week.

"We've always wanted to go on Monday nights," said TNA president Dixie Carter. "That's where the wrestling viewing audience is accustomed to being."

Eric Bischoff calls iMPACT! moving to Monday nights "a little bit of history repeating itself. Bischoff said, "This is a great opportunity for TNA to step up and get noticed and showcase their product. I've said since the moment I started talking to Dixie, in my opinion we should go head-to-head with 'Monday Night Raw.' To me, it's a battlefield -- and to win the battle, you have to be on the battlefield."

When asked to comment on WWE's new competition on Monday nights, WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman said, "We're not too concerned. We're in good shape."

And if you needed further proof that WWE doesn't give a care: Robert Zimmer continued.

"It's somewhat of a different audience. On Monday nights we're one of the top cable shows. We're focusing on our new show for Syfy, "NXT," and 'Wrestlemania XXIV.

Sometimes Raw is even the #1 show on cable television. I know Dixie is in bed with Hogan and Bischoff like no one's business right now. (Sorry for that mental picture.) But I can't believe she can't see the writing on the wall. First of all, they're not even out of the honeymoon phase of this relationship. They're all going in with big dreams and lots of hopes for the future, but there's no way they're on their way to a mutual partnership.

First of all, nearly the entire TNA locker room is pissed off right now, especially the guys who have never worked a day in WWE. Bischoff is right, in order to compete you do have to be on the battlefield, but you also have to be ready for the war, and so far TNA just isn't. Granted Bischoff and Hogan are more than capable of sustaining a program over time, but the point is - you can send General Patton into war, but he's not worth the gunpowder it would take to blow him up if he doesn't have an army behind him. TNA just doesn't have that army.

The writing department is ridiculous. (more so than WWE, because the continuity/psychology is even harder to wrap your brain around.)

In an attempt to be cutting edge, and get away from the PG stuff, they've successfully reworked every WWE angle in the history of ever, short of hand births and Katie Vick.

They continually throw away all non main event talent - worse than WWE - Their are no Mizs, Big Shows, MVPs or Kofi Kingstons on this show - and I don't know who any of the champions are.

They don't know how to use 3/4 of the roster, and that's why you get 6-8 man matches, that again lack psychology, and you have no idea why the match played out the way it did. At least in WWE every match seems to have a purpose, regardless of how ridiculous that purpose may be.

My point being, TNA had the opportunity to refine their Thursday night program, see what works, and what doesn't and then bring a gun to a gun fight on Monday nights. Now, they're just bringing a knife to said gun fight. Minute for Minute, Pound for Pound, Impact! against RAW, I will choose a program with Randy Orton, Triple H and The Miz - over anything TNA has to offer, ever.

In fact the only thing that would make me watch an episode of Impact as it aired live, is the return of Chyna, or maybe the Rock. And since The Rock is going to be a semi-permanent host of Raw over the summer, I think TNA is going to be mighty sad about their ratings. In fact, I look for them to fall to a .9 or 1.0 by June.