Shining A Spotlight 01.07.10: The Monday Night Skirmish

Only one topic for conversation this week, which is the return of the Monday Night War. Naturally, the IWC has been abuzz with news and reactions of various types and I guess I might as well give my own feelings. I have been struck by the fact I’ve already seen about a half dozen very different takes on each show. I’ve seen guys say Impact was pure genius and others say it was a train wreck while RAW has been called both massively disappointing and a fantastic show. So I figure I’d give my own thoughts, which sort of fall in the middle of the mentality.
　

RAW
　

Bret

The focus of RAW was, of course, Bret Hart and was utterly fascinating to watch not just as a wrestling angle but as a psychological study. I’ve made clear in the past my feelings on Bret. I respect the man’s wrestling skills immensely but his massive ego has often been a problem. I still feel he holds a lot of the blame for Montreal with his insistence that dropping a wrestling title would be a massive blow for an entire nation. The man’s attitude since hasn’t helped as still annoyed at the bit where he turned a tribute dinner for his father into a tirade against an author for ranking Bret low in a book on Canadian wrestlers. Still, the man does have a terrific reputation and of course, a ton of baggage with him.

That, of course, is what made the show so big. The confrontation fans had been waiting over a decade for finally here. The sight of Bret back in a WWE ring was utterly surreal. He looked not too bad, older but still able to work that great leather jacket and sunglasses. What got to me watching was how relaxed he seemed through it all, better than I’d seen him since…well, since 1997. Indeed, it really seems as if Bret is feeling that weight lifted off him, happy to finally let it go. I’ve always felt one of the biggest problems with Bret was letting Montreal control his life and for him to finally put it past him and move on is a great thing.

So we got the big Bret/Shawn meeting and I know some call it disappointing as they
wanted Bret to punch him or cost him the tag titles or something. But I think this was perfectly handled. Shawn has expressed some regret over what happened, not a whole lot, but has shifted his attitude in the last few years. Yet, he’s also been up front over thinking Bret shared blame for it and brilliant having that come out in the promo. You could feel the tension through it all as both men were obviously wary being in the same ring together after all this, almost as if each expected the other to break script somehow and either punch or argue. But they pulled it together to tease a fight but then decide to be better men and hug. I know, there are some who feel that’s lame but I thought it was the right way to go. Bret obviously is doing this to put Montreal behind him once and for all and he has always held a respect for Shawn as an athlete so I can see him letting that go for some brief forgiveness.

We got more of Bret like the great part with him and Jericho as Jericho tried sucking up and Bret ripped him apart for his attitude with Jericho’s face falling through it all. I was surprised they didn’t try a bit with Bret and the new Hart Dynasty (I know they did after the show but on-air would have been better). But what we all wanted was the confrontation between Bret and Vince. As with Shawn, Vince was clearly speaking from his heart with his own thoughts on how Montreal was necessary. I liked how they had Vince say right off everyone wanted Bret to kick his ass and Bret teasing it well. I know a lot are complaining about Vince with the low blow, saying it’s not right after all these years for Vince to have the last word.

But then, it’s not the last word, is it? It’s now obvious they’re building to Bret vs. Vince at Mania. I know some were expecting Shawn but let’s face it, Bret is not at the level to face him again. He’s older, out of the ring for years and let’s not forget the stroke. Expecting Bret vs. Shawn is a bit much but Bret vs. Vince is a different matter as Vince is no ring master and even a weakened Bret can handle him. Plus, let’s face it, it’s Vince everyone wants to see get his ass kicked. Setting it up now is perfect as Vince knows this is a showdown fans will gladly pay to see and where else but Mania to do it? We’ll no doubt be seeing more of the buildup over the next few months as we set up but this is one time Vince is looking at the long-range benefits. Plus, you’d need time for Bret to get himself in real fighting shape for it. Sure, the instant gratification of seeing Bret trash Vince would have been good but the pay-off is sure to be better as the showdown we’ve all waited for is finally upon us.
　

Rest of RAW

It was clear that the Bret stuff was the backbone of the episode as the rest of the show was pretty average. Normally, I hate the DX/Hornswoggle stuff but their segment here was brightened by Santino’s utterly hysterical Jericho impression. The Divas stuff was brief but did like the bit with Maryse not falling for the Bellas’ switch although it’s clear why they don’t wrestle that often. The DX/JeriShow match wasn’t too bad, as we finally get Jericho sent off RAW and the end tension with Show was good. While it might have been nice to see Kofi go over Orton, it made sense in terms of the storyline with Orton and Legacy and it’s pretty clear to everyone Sheamus is just holding the belt until the Rumble so the Bourne thing was just filler.

So it was a good RAW but not as great as a lot of folks had hoped. Let’s face it, the Bret thing was probably never going to live up to twelve years of expectations as Bret isn’t the type to go for the obvious plans and such. Still, with such a big hook, you’d think WWE would have loaded up the show a bit bitter with match power. So a good RAW but not as great as it could have been with a bit more planning.

Impact

Moving on to TNA now. I know I hear it a lot from TNA fans (I’m sure a few of the usual bunch will be complaining at the end of this, go ahead) about how I hate the company. I don’t, I really don’t, I truly hope they succeed. What I dislike about TNA is that a company with so much potential for the future keeps making steps backward. They’ve shown massive improvement in the last half-year with AJ Styles as champion and an attempt to build the X Division back up. The arrival of Hulk Hogan has given TNA a huge amount of publicity and TNA has been ready to use it.

The results, however, are mixed to say the least. When you have a live crowd chanting “this is bullshit” for three matches, that’s not a good sign. We did have a fantastic main event but you had to get through two hours and fifteen minutes (I’m not counting the forty-five minutes of commercials spread around) to get to that. The potential was there and we had gasps of how great the company can be but overall, the impact wasn’t what TNA had hoped for.

Hogan

Keeping Hogan’s entrance until the top of the second hour was a genius move on TNA’s part. It built up anticipation and insured Impact would get a major moment against RAW. The promo of Hogan wasn’t too bad, the usual Hogan talk and seemed to promise some good stuff. That was, until we got to the line of old cronies coming in with Hall, Nash, Sean Waltman and Eric Bischoff. Seriously, I get their old star power and TNA wanted that but this was supposed to be a new start for TNA, a brand new day where they could lure in new fans and instead we get a regathering of the longest lived (literally) faction in wrestling? Not the best sign. And Bischoff tearing up the run sheet just looked too “Crash TV”

An even bigger problem was the Hogan-Jeff Jarrett confrontation. Watching, I felt it was a great showdown with Jarrett defending himself and Hogan coming off an overbearing jerk. It was pretty good…until you realize it was supposed to be the complete opposite effect. Apparently, Jarrett was supposed to be the heel and Hogan the face saving the company but due to some editing backstage and the way the two came off, the fans embraced Jarrett and turned on the company’s new “savior.” This was probably doomed from the start as the idea of Hogan trashing someone for being in business for themselves is chutzpah of the highest order. His saying Jeff has to “prove himself” is also ridiculous as, while I’m not a Jarrett fan, he has truly proven himself with TNA, he doesn’t need Hogan telling him what to do.

And having Hogan put over Styles and Angle was also crazy as the two men are already stars who don’t need “the rub” from Hogan of all people. This was TNA’s big chance to take advantage of Hogan’s star power but instead, Hogan seemed to go out of his way to prove his many critics right, sounding selfish and making it about himself, not the company. It hopefully will get better but first impressions count and Hogan’s first wasn’t exactly the best.

Jeff Hardy: I’ve never been the biggest Jeff fan but I have respected him for keeping up with wrestling despite his problems. However, I lost a bit of respect for him now. After all WWE did sticking by him through his injuries and suspensions, after the pushes they gave him after he let them down before and more importantly, after the support of so many fans there, Jeff went and signed up with TNA. It’s a pretty big slap to a lot of people as Jeff spoke so much of how WWE helped him and he loved it there and turning so fast wasn’t a good thing.

I don’t blame TNA for signing him as he is a big star. I am surprised they did given how he blew chances with them back in ‘04-06. His entrance was also a bit bungled as he just ran into the horrific ending of the Steel Asylum match. And on that, what does it say for TNA to put together a big match of young talent and have it end in no contest? Of course, TNA now has egg on their face as they have under contract a man who’s being indicted for drug possession so I hope they didn’t pay their contract in advance. This could have been a great thing for TNA but bad timing and presentation marred it.

The Knockouts: TNA has always had going for them a stronger women’s division (well, aside from the Jenna debacle) but last night made the Divas look terrific. First, having Tara lose the Knockouts title made no sense as the woman is a terrific worker and could have gotten a lot of fresh feuds at the top. Replacing her with ODB is bad as, while fun, the woman’s had her chance before and better to get new blood in. Meanwhile, the Knockouts tag match wasn’t too bad but then we had the stuff with the Beautiful People doing strip poker with Val Venis (or whatever name he’s using) showing up which is as bad as anything with Divas on RAW, more so as it kept dragging through the night. This was TNA’s chance to let their women shine but failed to truly do so.

Flair: Having Flair in TNA can be good and bad. Good as he is a respected name and it’ll be great seeing him maybe give rubs with promos. But bad as it’s yet another older face in a company trying to seem fresh and new. Not sure how long he may last as he has issues with both Russo and Bischoff and Flair always goes his own way. But his presence, as long as it lasts, can give TNA a bit more credibility than Hogan, we’ll see how it goes.

“Star” Power: A major issue with fans of the Impact show was the various faces popping up like Venis. Orlando Jordan I’ve found to be rather underrated so his presence in TNA might be a good thing. But the Nasty Boys was a total time waster as even TNA doesn’t want them wrestling in the tag division anymore. Devoting so much time to these guys while ignoring the fresher talent in ultra-short matches isn’t a good thing for TNA to pull in new viewers. Oh and don’t get me started on Bubba the Love Sponge who actually makes me want Don West back. Once more, TNA had a prime opportunity to pull in new fans but showing older guys like this wasn’t the way to make themselves seem fresh. Yeah, WWE had Bret but that was something fans had waited over a decade for while TNA was just pulling the old faces in for laughs, like WWE has done far too often. You can’t criticize the E while cheering TNA for doing the same thing.

Styles vs. Angle: Thank God, I can always depend on AJ Styles to make even the worst Impact (and no, this was far, far from the worst) to put on a winner. He and Angle really blew the roof off the place with the fantastic main event, showing fans what TNA is truly capable of. This is what the show needed more of, these great matches, not overlong skits with old faces or matches lasting barely three minutes and less. TNA is supposed to be the new face of wrestling but they didn’t seem interested in anything but the old on Monday.

The NWO Reunion: So after some rough matches and such, we see that the folks beating everyone up have been Hall, Nash and Waltman. Seriously, why? The New World Order was a real once-in-a-lifetime thing that can’t be replicated. WCW tried it numerous times, WWE tried it, TNA themselves tried it with Hall and Nash back in ‘04, it never works. Is there anyone who’s truly interested in seeing these over the hill guys feuding with Mick Foley while Hulk Hogan watches over it all? Not the fresh start a lot of us were hoping for with TNA.

I know there are TNA fans who will say I’m too harsh and I hate sounding so. Although if you’ve listened to Jim Cornette’s pod cast, I’m being downright lavish in praise compared to his ranting. The main event was spectacular but was barely worth slogging through two hours of bad skits, bad matches and long promos to get to. This was TNA’s chance to prove themselves as the fresh face in wrestling, to pull in new fans with their amazing bed of talent in hot matches. Instead, we get an over reliance on skits, a promo battle that went completely against plans, matches the crowd hated, the women looking like idiots and the return of the most overdone angle in wrestling.

I wanted TNA to succeed here, I truly did. I wanted them to do a fantastic show but they didn’t. The TNA fandom won’t accept that of course and that’s part of the problem with the company too. Just because something is not WWE does not automatically make it better, ok? And no, TNA is NOT on the same level of WWE, not in terms of size or making money (you know, the point of a wrestling company). You want to be devoted to TNA, go ahead but don’t make it blind devotion. I like WWE but I acknowledge how horrible most RAWs are and this week was a letdown as well. Yet don’t say TNA did it better because they didn’t. They had the chance to step up and show their stuff as the fresh face but instead reminded fans why wrestling got so bad. I won’t go as far as others and say they’ve turned into WCW circa 1999…but they’re a bit closer to that point if they don’t make some better choices in presentation.

Ratings

The ratings have shown good stuff for TNA. No, they didn’t get the 3.0 but then that was a pipe dream. But a 1.45 is quite good, especially the 1.88 when Hogan arrived. As for RAW, they did well too as Bret’s presence pushed them up to a 3.37, one of their better ratings in a long time. Of course, one week doesn’t mean it’ll happen every week. It’s clear the majority of the TNA audience was due to Hogan and the three hour time and how they fare next week will tell the real story. After all, the show did leave a sour taste in the mouths of many fans but also showed a bit of potential that can help.

I had worries of Hogan in TNA as I feared his ego and presence might be too dominant and in some ways, that was realized. I saw the look on Dixie Carter’s face during the Hogan/Jarrett confrontation as she realized how the fans were turning on the idea of Hogan as the face and Jarrett the heel. There’s the chance to turn that around, of course as TNA’s booking and writing have improved greatly over the last few months so maybe the rough stuff last night was an aberration of them trying too hard. I know most are predicting disaster with Russo and Bischoff working together but maybe they can balance each other out a bit more. Right now, TNA does have some momentum and have to make it work.

I’m not sure if a move of Impact to Mondays would be a good move or not as WWE still has the stronger audience. But it might be good in some ways as Vince could use some competition to give WWE a kick it needs. At the same time, TNA has to realize Hogan isn’t going to solve all their creative woes and might just form some new ones. But Jarrett isn’t going to let his baby go down without some sort of fight and Dixie won’t want to lose her investment so they should be able to help Hogan along in improving the show.