After much speculation, a lot of confusion and a few false alarms, it appears that the new era of Monday Night Wars is now on.
In a press conference on February 15, TNA’s President Dixie Carter announced that iMPACT will be moving to Monday nights starting on March 8. Previous reports had the program moving on March 1. Taping releases and schedules at Universal Orlando, where TNA tapes their programs, did not show iMPACT moving at all.
The two-hour broadcast will go directly head to head with WWE’s Raw broadcast in the 9PM to 11PM EST timeslot. They will start with a live show on March 8, and will tape every other show on the Tuesday following the live event.
In the press conference, Hulk Hogan made an appearance and called this the single biggest moment in his career. He also thanked TNA, Dixie Carter, and her father Bob Carter for giving him the opportunity to take TNA to the next level and make history.
WWE is not concerned and apparently has no real plans at this point to counter TNA’s move. Spokesman Robert Zimmerman told Variety, “It’s somewhat of a different audience. On Monday night, we’re one of the top cable shows. We’re focusing on our new show for SyFy, “NXT” and WrestleMania 26. We’re not too concerned. We’re in good shape.”
Dixie Carter appears to at least be realistic about all of this. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, she feels this is a good move for the company and for the industry as a whole. She went on to say, “Having two Monday night wrestling shows with healthy competition between them can make for great TV. Our goal is not to beat ‘Raw’ immediately, but we feel confident this will accelerate our growth and make it fun for wrestling fans.”
Monday night has been historically where the viewers have been for wrestling programs, and we remember how great the Monday Night Wars were. While this is a big move for TNA to make, in my opinion it does not immediately thrust them into the “War” era again.
TNA has far too much to concern themselves with as it relates to booking and storylines, as well as clear faces and heels. They are making strides in the right direction, but they are a long way off from becoming a viable threat to Raw.
Mark your calendars. It should make for an interesting night of viewing.
Source article from TNAWrestlingNews.com
Video of the Dixie Carter/Hulk Hogan press conference
Read the official TNA press release on the move
Source Credit: TNAWrestlingNews.com
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A 37 year old engineer by day that enjoys writing on the side. I go back a lot of years in pro wrestling, from the old NWA/WCW days and the 80's WWF up til today with TNA, WWE, and occasionally some of the other independent federations. Primarily my scene here will be TNA, but expect a little bit of everything in terms of opinions and recaps in the world of pro wrestling from me.
Oh well it looks like we are going to see a cheap knock off of the Monday night wars after all. I dont see how this will help TNA at all.