Bigpapa42

So Hogan had no idea about the steel asylum cage and how it works? That's... worrisome...

No, I don't think it takes away from a wrestler's legacy. Very few wrestlers get to have the kind of final match that Flair did. Its a rarity, I think. But when that opportunity is there for that one last great match, I would like to see it happen.

I agree about Hart knowing whether or not he can actually go. Its not that aspect to much as that idea that if this is going to be Hart's final match, I would prefer to see him against a real opponent of quality, who can carry him if necessary and has a real possibility of being a very good match. The feud between Vince and Hart basically writes itself and I'm sure there would be a ton of heat for the match. I just don't see the match as being great. Then again, sometimes emotion is enough to make a match memorable...

It very likely is heading towards Vince vs Bret. Which I would just honestly rather not see. I'm not convinced Hart back in the ring is a good thing, and I am tired of Vince wrestling.

I posted that a page ago and it got ignored by everyone except JC. Very good ratings. Impressive. They didn't hurt Raw, which also drew very well. In a way, that's even more impressive. The key - as JC said - will be whether they can maintain or even build next week and beyond.

That will be the true measure. Despite Hogan's outrageous (and quite honestly stupid) claims of being able to hit 3.0, a 1.5 would be a very strong rating given the circumstances. But that won't mean much if they drop back down to 1.0 in the coming weeks. The show, in my opinion, was very hit-or-miss. If the thought of seeing Hall and Waltman, the Nasty Boys, and Val Venis interests and excties you, then you probably enjoyed it. The storylines and such were typical TNA - uneven. Good and bad. Very solid main event, however.

First rumors about the ratings for Impact - 1.5. Very impressive if accurate.

Does anyone know how long the WWE and Hart were in negototations? I honestly don't and I don't know if that's ever been Assuming that they jumped at the Hogan announcement and rushed to get something done might not be accurate at all. The timing might have even been what was originally intended or hoped. Is Hart coming back a big deal? Yeah, for most fans it was. One of the most "must see" guests hosts so far... well, maybe the only one. And while that resulted in the WWE putting on one of the best Raw's in awhile, this was not the WWE going all out. Not at all. Yeah, they featured some good matches, but they were mostly ones that fit the storylines and thus moved things along. They didn't bring in talent from other brands (Jericho doesn't count in my mind). They didn' throw together random super-matches just for the sake of it. They didn't even bring in their top babyface from his night off (assuming it was planned well in advance rather than them just feeling they didn't need Cena, which is far more disrespectful). So to me, this was nowhere near "WWE all guns blazing". I doubt that would have resulted in a better show, to be honest, but this was just them following the standard formula for the most part, with a notable guest host.

Don't know if this was mentioned or not, but its been reported that Bryan Danielson had his first official WWE match in a dark match against Chavo. He won with Regal's high knee and apparently the match got a good crowd reaction.

The purpose of Hall and Waltman was, so far as I can gather, so that Hogan could emphasize the "we're not doing WCW again". Honestly, if that was indeed the purpose, it felt pretty overt and heavy-handed. Unnecessary. You can get the same point across without getting your buddies one more payday, which really struck me as the purpose. And I have to agree that Hogan's promos felt... off...

Yeah, I don't think "won" is the right way to put it. I watched Raw and a good portion of Impact (going back and re-watching the rest). Raw was the best its been in awhile, with solid segments and decent matches. Impact felt like a cluttered mess of overkill, with continual debuts, leading into a damned good main event. To me, it was the kind of show that TNA does so often, which you either enjoy or just find endlessly annoying. It shows both the potential and the downside to TNA.

I don't want either, to be honest. I want basic, smart booking with proper roster usage. WWE certainly has its problems at this point, but I don't think that excuses the problems with TNA at all. That's negative justification. I simply don't understand TNA's need to overkill something. When they could make a point with one segment, they do six instead. Its like they think the viewers are morons and the most basic storyline point has to be hammered - literally hammered - into their heads.

I'm much the same. It looks to be same-old TNA, but with more clutter. I so desperately wanted this to be the debut of a "new" TNA, one which would play to its strengths and move away from what kept from really buying in as a fan. Instead, it looks to be more of the same. I am a sad Papa.

I don't think anyone was supposed to enjoy. That was the point. People were supposed to hate it - thereby hating Vince and wanting to see Hart kick his ass. So they can drag this storyline out for a few months.... probably leading to a Vince-Bret Match (sadly).

Getting those guys to the cusp is the relative easy part, so long as they have a bit of talent. Put them in a position to let that talent shine, especially against the top talent - like Angle. But taking that focus away is basically just making it a big waste of time. They need to long-term plan and have something for the guys they come out of that big feud, some way to keep them relevant and near the top. This is a big weakness of TNA booking, in my opinion. I really really hope that isn't the case... but looking like an afterthought on this show makes it seem very possible.

But this is exactly why TNA doesn't really build new stars, in my opinion. You bring in Nigel McGuiness and put him right into a feud with Kurt Angle. That's big. Then what are they going to follow it up with? He gets less TV time than the Nasty Boys here. That can't be a good sign. After they did the same thing with both Morgan and Hernandez. You push workers in a position to elevate them and don't....

Have to agree with TFC. It put Styles back into a position he had been in before, so it wasn't really necessary for that. And it left Morgan with the potential to be big... and they've since dropped him right back to where he was. So after a year of dominating Impact, the whole stable really did nothing.

Welcome to the new TNA: Hulk's Rules.

Jericho did the "Hogan listening" thing. That's it so far.

From the look of it, its a train-wreck. Those are always fun. In a bad way.

The opening segment of Hart's kick off angle was the biggest reason I wanted to see. Before HBK came out, where Hart thanked the fans, that was as from-the-heart as you are likely to see anytime soon. Even the Michaels stuff seemed pretty true. A short bit later I flip over to Impact and what do I see? Jarrett givng a semi-heartfelt promo, then getting interrupted by Hogan on video, who tries to set a record for the use of brother and then says he's taken JJ's ownership portion of TNA.... Really, didn't they do that already with Foley? I think I picked right...

Because the WCW reunion wouldn't be complete without him?

But why bring in guys who are 10 years past being good and relevant? Why not focus on the star power you have - guys like Joe, Hernandez, and Morgan could be a focus, rather than Hall and X-Pac. I'm sorry, but this starts to feel like they are throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks.

Part of what I was afraid of. Just posted this on another forum, but TNA is throwing everything out there at once and hoping. That's not a real sound plan. Does it really matter if you draw in a million new viewers this week if you manage to lose them again in 2 weeks? Allow somethings to play out over time. I realize that tonight is the special, live, head-to-head with Raw... but having some patience seems like it would've been smart...

My logic for choosing to watch Raw tonight and PVR Impact is this - as much as I would like to see TNA succeed, I just don't expect them to. As much as I want to see them get better (what I consider "better", at least), I don't have faith that they will. For over a year now, they have had to as a regular Thursday night viewer simply be default - rarely was there something else on I wanted to see. I've found Impact to be up-and-down during that period, much as I have found most WWE program to be. But not once did TNA manage to intrigue me to the point of buying a PPV. I will if they give eme enough reason to, but not so far. But if TNA wants to go up against WWE and try to be legit competition, as they are tonight, then they have to entice me. They have to give me a reason to watch. And what they have offered up so far does not. I am more eager to see Bret Hart in the WWE than Hulk Hogan in TNA. The matches that TNA has announced thus far do not intigue me moreso than what the WWE is likely to offer. The rumored and likely "surprised" don't really intrigue me. And moreso, I fully expect the 3 hours to be about 40 minutes of wrestling and 2 hours and 20 minute sof angles, about 50 of which will center around Hogan, Foley, or both. No free rides, and TNA just hasn't done enough to make me want to watch it over the WWE at this point.