Raw v Impact? No. Spike v USA
Long time, no column. It’s been a busy month here in the Harley camp, what with a house move ongoing. Things are starting to settle down now, so it’s time to pick this column back up as we head towards Wrestlemania.
This past week, TNA moved Impact to Monday nights permanently. This weeks show was live, but this coming Monday is taped. Strangely, the biggest response to a ratings war has not come from the respective companies, but from the networks themselves. For those who haven’t already seen, Raw did a 3.4, Impact did a 0.98 (rounded up to 1.0). Spike were apparently happy with the 1.0 rating. The final Thursday night Impact did a 1.1, so there was no significant drop in audience. They are rightly regarding this as the first step in a long term strategy. USA couldn’t resist a dig. Ted Linhart (VP of Program Research) posted this on Twitter; “Not much of a Monday Night “War”. RAW trounced TNA by 275% w/ total viewers. Also Impact much lower than the test Monday ep in early Jan.”
As I’ve said before, a head to head ratings war doesn’t work in the modern, DVR-equipped world. The companies themselves are pretty much proving this, with Jeff Jarrett himself referring to DVR as an element that detracts from the ratings. The New Monday Night War is a network war, not a wrestling war.
But that doesn’t stop us taking a look at either show. Which came out on top? Raw was its usual dull, plodding self. The Cena v McMahon Main Event was a predictable swerve – McMahon throwing wave after wave of wrestlers at Cena before a Batista beatdown. Impact was more entertaining. Hogan/Abyss v Flair/Styles opened the show with a blood soaked brawl the likes of which WWE will no longer present. Sting returned, RVD debuted, Jeff Hardy interfered…Granted, there can’t be all that many twists every week, but the show felt like an alternative to the PG-friendly, bland content currently produced by WWE.
One thing I didn’t like about Impact was the number of in-ring segments and brawls. You had Flair/Hogan, Angle/Anderson, Nash/Hall…every angle seemed to play out an interview and lengthy beatdown that made the show feel a lot longer than it actually was. A little variety wouldn’t have hurt. Like, for example, a few wrestling matches. It is a wrestling show after all. Instead, we had the opening Flair/Hogan/Styles/Abyss/Sting brawl, followed by reactions from each man individually. That’s six segments before any wrestling takes place (I’m not counting the match as an actual match. It was a brawl that started and ended on the mic).
Tonight’s Raw features Steve Austin as Guest Host. He’ll be present at the Hart/McMahon Contract Signing. I’m really hoping this sets him up as the Guest Referee. Austin has a history with both men and I think any involvement from the Texas Rattlesnake will only make things feel much grander come Wrestlemania. Bret has already confirmed his WWE involvement post-Wrestlemania. He is booked on the Germany leg of the Wrestlemania Revenge Tour as Guest Enforcer in a match between Edge and Jericho.
More updates to come later in the week. A few Wrestlemania related articles. Until then…
