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Tonight is a night wrestling fans like myself have been looking forward to since the WWE bought WCW back in 2001. No, it's not the official return of theMonday Night Wars, but it does mark the first serious wrestling competition to the WWE in a almost NINE years. TNA iMPACT will run a live three hour showtonight for the first time in their history. No, they will not beat Raw in the ratings. I would be surprised if they even do half of Raw's rating sinceI'm guessing the WWE will do a 4+ tonight. However, that isn't the point. The point is that wrestling fans finally have a choice on Monday night. Wehave the opportunity to let the WWE know we are tired of the crap they have been producing for so long. We're tired of Hornswoggle. We're tired ofDX. We're tired of Cena. We're tired of the same main events at every single PPV. We're tired of Michael Cole. We're tired of the comedyskits. Yes, TNA has many, many flaws of their own, but tonight is their chance to start anew.
TNA has made a few blips on WWE's radar in the past. They've signed wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Sting, Christian, Mick Foley, Tazz, and some otherlesser known names. However, none of those men have been able to help TNA break through to the mainstream. But tonight could be different. Say what you wantabout the man, and I am not a fan in the least bit, but Hulk Hogan is arguably the biggest name in pro wrestling history and lends instant credibility (I neverthought I'd use Hogan and credibility in the same sentence) to the company. And if Hogan brings some of his friends with him (ie Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam,and others), along with other names rumored to be joining the company such as Jeff Hardy and Paul Heyman, it may finally be what it takes for the WWE to payattention to the little number two promotion down in Orlando.
However, while reports are that the WWE isn't taking TNA as a serious threat tonight, their actions say otherwise. First, in what is by far the biggestname guest host they have had thus far (at least in a wrestling perspective), they have brought back Bret "The Hitman" Hart for his first on-airappearance in over 12 years with the WWE. Bret Hart will be the guest host tonight, but he has also signed a short-term contract with the WWE that runsthrough WrestleMania. The strongest rumor going around right now is that he will face Vince McMahon in a grudge match street fight at WrestleMania 26, butthere are many different ways they can go. When Vince is in charge, it's way too early to guess what is going to happen tomorrow, no less three monthsfrom now.
In addition to Bret Hart's return, D-Generation X will defend their tag team titles against Chris Jericho and The Big Show tonight in their firstlegitimate rematch. If Jerishow loses, Chris Jericho will be off Raw FOREVER!!! (heh). The new Hart Foundation has also been called to be on tonight'sshow, so it will be interesting to see what role they play. Finally, Melina tore up her knee last week and will be out of action for some time and will beforced to drop the title. The prevailing thought is Maryse will take the title tonight, but they may choose to give it to another face first and then haveMaryse beat her down the line. Regardless, it's always nice to have Maryse on the screen.
Let's not forget that The Royal Rumble is later this month, so the WWE will need to begin building the show.
The WWE has also reportedly gone to the USA Network and requested approval for a 20 minute runover tonight, of course to combat TNA's main event. It willbe nice to have a legitimate main event on Raw that lasts longer than five minutes.
TNA has been very secretive about what they have planned for tonight. There are many, many rumors flying around, but for now I will just focus on what we doknow. Hulk Hogan will make his TNA debut (or return depending on how you look at it) tonight. A Steel Cage Asylum match was just announced. And twoKnockouts matches have been announced. For The Knockouts Championship: Tara defends against ODB and for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Sarita and TaylorWilde defend against Awesome Kong and Hamada. Hogan's buddy, Bubba The Love Sponge, will also be on tonight's show in some form. Both Eric Bischoffand Vince Russo have promised big surprises tonight.
Like I said, let's no kid ourselves. TNA will not beat WWE in the ratings tonight, nor will they even come close. Dixie Carter has even acknowledgedthat. However, that's not the point. If tonight's TNA show is a success, there is a very good chance that TNA programming will become a permanentmainstay on Monday nights. The mighty WWE with their fan base, international resources, and most importantly, money, may be able to brush off TNA right now. However, by the end of 2010, I think we may once again see a legitmate professional wrestling (or sports entertainment) battle in North America. There is nodenying that 2009 was an awful year for major pro wrestling, but I really think 2010 may be able to wipe that bad taste from our mouths.
NEWS AND NOTES (MAY CONTAINER SPOILERS)
