Word is that Hardy signed some kind of regular deal with TNA. I can't believe WWE didn't find some way to keep him, assuming he really isn't going to be going to prison soon. #2 most popular wrestler they have made in the last 12 years, and most likely the #2 draw and merchandise sales guy they would have had for the next several years, and he leaves, most likely because he wanted the lighter schedule that TNA allows for. Why not just make an exception on the scheduling for a top guy? They get exceptional pay, why not this?

That's the thing though, what exactly were you expecting? If you're a fan of an in ring product TNA gave you a 30 minute main event with AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle on free TV. I don't hate on them for doing this because in many ways this show last night was way more important than any PPV they will do.
If you like the promos that wrestling gives you, there were some really great spirited promo work by probably the greatest name in wrestling ever in Hogan and even Bischoff. They also signed the current biggest name in pro wrestling in Jeff Hardy who made an appearance. They had a hot crowd all night that loved the show and provided a awesome atmospere.
So going in, what exactly were you looking for? It just makes no sense to me, why even bother watching wrestling at all if there's nothing that you'll enjoy.

As for Raw I CAN see why people hate it. But the fact of the matter is, WWE is going full board in this new PG environment for the long run. Things are not going to change anytime soon, hence why I won't be watching it but will follow them through to Wrestlemania at the very least because this year's wrestlemania looks to be really good.

wat

+1. Also yeah, Kurt had already ****ed up his marriage and this was after him hooking up with Rhaka Khan if im not mistaken. I never heard any reason why JJ was the bad guy in the story but i guess Angle sells PPVs and he doesnt.

Just saw the Pope vs Desmond match. God they are going to have an amazing feud and i like the booking of that match. Its funny how Pope was billed as a heel when he debuted and somehow just built massive crowd support for him to finally have a significant face feud against one of the big boys in the company. One could argue its a step down for Wolfe but a good holding pattern feud before his turn to take a shot at the title comes up is a good thing.

Btw, its confirmed that Shatner is hosting Raw on Feb 1st. Im on the fence if this is win or fail.

Hardy isn't the #1 biggest name in wrestling, but he's probably the #2 draw out of guys under 40 at least.

See my rando news post above. They had to fire him since he third striked a drug test. Vince has been reported as not too bothered by his debut and it was expected by most in WWE who knew about the third strike.

The bigger shock is WWE didnt mention the third strike earlier. I mean it just wasnt leaked or anything. Presumably so they could sweep it under the carpet and resign him later?

As for the rest, no one dictates terms to Vince. This is the reason Sting has never worked at WWE. I mean Jeff is big, but he doesnt have anything like the stroke of Taker, Cena Hunter and HBK who can get time off when they want and work light schedules and basically make their own rules and book their own feuds for the most part.

Not going to spoiler the tapings, but feel its worth adding the Young Bucks debuted at the tapings a few minutes ago against the MCMGs, working under the name Generation Me. You want a reason to watch Impact on the 14th, that is a huge reason right there.

With Desmond Wolfe, someone really needs to hire a better names guy, lol.

Saw that rando news post but I'm not sure how reliable it is. Further, if they made an exception from instant termination for 3 strikes to allow him to work extra matches, why not make an exception and have a punishment that was different from termination?

Re Jeff Hardy

I'm searching my brain and I can't think of a single wrester out there that is hotter free agent than Jeff Hardy. I'm talking in terms of North America here.

Even current stars like John Cena (who I abosolute despise and is a total channel changer for me), I see a lot of parents bringing their kids in to watch. I guess you can call that a draw but I think in terms of fan support it's close. Cena has the edge because he's still in the business and do all kinds of different things for WWE but I see WWE marketing itself more as a "brand" than a draw nowadays. Like for example when WWE comes to town it's more like parents bringing their families to a WWE show like going to the theatre or the circus as opposed to say when Mayweather fights Manny Pacquiao (which will do the biggest PPV ever in history) where people come to see the actual draw.

As far as Taker, Hunter and HBK having more pull in the company that's true but that doesn't mean they're a bigger draw than Jeff Hardy. You put Hunter in a match with anybody and it wouldn't draw the money that you could if you had Jeff Hardy.

If it means anything I read an article recently which listed the #1 WWE action figure for WWE is actually not John Cena but Hornswoggle.

The first sentence contradicts the last sentence, as making one's 'own rules' and booking one's own feuds is dictating one's terms. If it is indeed Vince's stubbornness that lead to this, Vince's stubbornness just cost him. A big part of Vince's long time and hugely successful business plan is to let other companies make stars and take the risk/chances on them, then pull them away from the competition while they are in their prime. Hardy leaving is the opposite of this proven strategy.

Oddly this is another parallel to the original Monday Night Wars, when Hall and Nash, two stars WWE had made, left for another organization while still in their prime.

TNA Impact Rating In !!!!!!

Yeah, qualify that as nobody dicates terms but some in the right clique get to ask nicely and are usually listened to.

The third strike stuff is confirmed as real and is reported and sourced on multiple websites. The only way it could be more real is if WWE announce it, which given the time they are unlikely to do.

They had to release him. Just giving him a couple more matches is bad enough and tbh it weakens the entire process a lot with the way they treated him. He got at least a week longer in the company than their own policy, which they talk about as if it were law, demanded.

The WWE Wellness Policy has always had a grey area on what would happen if someone three strikes it. It was never spelt out fi their contract termination was forever never to return and we still dont know. It was always assumed they would loophole it somehow by using rehab and regular testing to allow them to rehire a big asset who got caught up in it but in the end that point is moot for now.

As far as im aware Jeff is the first to three strike it and their policy was to not announce the strike (they always do it within a day or two) and to continue to play dumb until he signed to another company. It doesnt look good for them.

Also i +1 to every notion that Jeff will bring a lot of WWE viewers with him. Given RVD is also expected to join they now have, with AJ, three of the best wrestlers of the "no fear" style with huge bumps and spots and who do it time and again without injury which is more important. Plus the true wrestlers of Angle and Dustin and the great talents of Joe, Tomko and Daniels they really have an amazing core of wrestlers they can build the company around pulling in different fans of different styles and thats ignoring the other great talents they have.

They just need to add value by positioning the old names of Hogan, Nash Flair and Sting to work the promos and build storylines by having them work in GM and talent manager roles for the young guys and they already have the makings of an amazing year.

Not sure why this is spoilered, lol.

My response:

.....

To make people do a little work and click one button to add a little drama

Next week's rating is going to be far more important overall than this week's considering all the promotional effort Spike put into the debut of Hogan.

The Raw rating will be very interesting as well. Did Raw lose some of it's viewers to TNA? or did it stay steady and even attracted some fans who have stopped watching wrestling altogether and came back for this night? Very interesting.

With Impact doing such a great composite number, it could mean that the first hour which went unopposed to Raw could've done a monster number. It would be really interesting to see the breakdowns.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/...n_Viewers_.php

TNA Impact! drew 2.2 million viewers for its Jan. 4 special featuring the ring return of former WWE star Hogan, easily outdistancing the former high mark of 1.9 million viewers the series set in April 2008, according to Spike TV officials. The first hour of the special averaged 2.5 million viewers, according to Spike.
TNA Impact! however was no match for USA Network's popular WWE Monday Night Raw series. Raw drew an average of 5.5 million viewers from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., well above the 2 million viewers the TNA Impact! special averaged during the same time period on Spike, according to Nielsen data.

TNA is in for an XFL-esque ratings drop if they keep putting crap like that out there.

The whole show just made zero sense. Hogan is terrible and his promo was non-sensical given that they spent half the entire show focusing on burnouts like the Nasty Boys, X-Pac, and Foley walking around with a roller bag.

Why does everybody's entrance music have to be a crappy knockoff of their WWF stuff? I guess b/c when they try to make their own they end up with garbage like Jeff Hardy's music.

Lashely's segment, wtf was that supposed to be?
Endless limo shots? Only a matter of time until the EVIL WHITE HUMMER is back.

Shame b/c they got some pretty good pieces. The Pope is awesome.

Lol @ the (probably unintentional) WWE spin, like anyone thought Impact on Spike would beat Raw on USA when one averages a 1.0 rating and the other gets a 4.0 or thereabouts.

Dropping 200k viewers only to WWE is amazing.

TNA's breakdown was 1.7, 1.44 and 1.22 for the three hours it was on.

Anyone know what the x.y figure is for Raw? I cant find it unbroken down into the 18-44 age range or whatever it was ive read three times in three different places. I assume its not broken the 5.0 barrier?

First time in a long time that many people have watched wrestling on a monday night.

All the fuss about TNA getting a 1.5 makes me pissed that AOL/Time Warner sold out to Vince. Wasn't Nitro still pulling like a mid 2 rating even when it was full of the EVIL WHITE HUMMER and Macho Man slapping chicks around?

Sure they were leaking money on bad contracts and paying James Brown to come out for 3 minutes, but I wish they'd have shut down for a bit, re-tooled/streamlined or whatever, then tried again rather then selling out to Vince for pennies on the dollar.

Idk y everyone is complaining, i thought both shows were fantastic and left us with sick cliffhangers. Hogan and Hart were both fantastic, there are no losers in this battle between TNA and WWE, all fans are winners. I, for one, am very excited about the wrestling industry right now.
Hogan lace up the boots pleeeeeeeeease.

Hogan has allready said that he will not be wrestling(often), and i hope to god he means this. He was never very good in the ring, and from all reports, his Australia tour was not good at all.

Hogan getting in the ring would be the worst thing for TNA, when they have so much very good young talent(AJ, Joe, Daniels, Desmond, MCMG, Young Bucks....), that if most of the old guys get in the ring, it would not be good.