On January 4th TNA Wrestling decided to broadcast their flagship show, Impact!, live in the US on a Monday evening for the first time in their seven year history. The acquisition of 'The Immmortal' Hulk Hogan was the stimulus for this idea as TNA sought to cash in on the Hulkster's undeniable popularity with wrestling fans of all ages.
During this historic night TNA managed to shock the wrestling world again with the appearance of Jeff Hardy. 'The Enigma' had only been WWE champion this past summer and has enormous appeal to the teen demographic whom TNA seen to be aiming at adding to their already growing fan base. The show was also crammed full with other appearances from well known personalities including Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Sean 'X Pac' Waltman and Hogan's right hand man, Eric Bischoff.
Record Rating
The appearance of Hulk Hogan himself was of course the moment of the evening however, with fans in the Impact Zone on their feet for the returning icon. Hogan acknowledged the fears of many by saying that he realised that this was a different time (in reference to the now defunct WCW) and that he was ready to make wholesale 'positive' changes to the TNA product as whole.
Hogan's speech grabbed a 1.9 Nielsen rating which translated into nearly 3 million viewers, which for TNA , whose previous high was a 1.3, proved a massive feat. The quality of the main event between the masterful Kurt Angle and the incredibly talented TNA Heavyweight champion AJ Styles was another highlight of the show and helped the live Impact! achieve an overall 1.5 rating which meant an average of 2.2 million viewers tuned in.
Genesis Of A New Era
TNA's first PPV of 2010 and of the Hogan era was aptly called Genesis, and the fans in attendance didn't have to wait long for their first new dawn as the ring itself had transformed from six sides, which had been a staple of TNA since 2004, into a traditional four sides. Even though the initial chants of 'We Want Six Sides' from the hardcore fans seemed to sour the speech by Hogan and Bischoff on why they had changed the ring, to the viewer at home the reasons were legitimate and TNA seemed to look a lot more mainstream and professional.
The PPV itself also seemed to bode well for the Hogan era as matches were well paced and told their story well. The highlights being the captivating encounter between 'Pope' D'Angelo Dinero and Desmond Wolfe , and the thrilling main event between TNA Heavyweight Champion 'The Phenomenal' AJ Styles and 'The Olympic Gold Medallist' Kurt Angle, which included a shocking heel turn by the fan favourite Styles resulting in his alignment with Ric Flair.
The Future
Though many hardcore wrestling fans will feel that Hogan has again brought his 'buddies' into TNA Wrestling to jettison the organisation (with The Nasty Boys and Hall & Waltman getting substantial air time), the overall feeling is that Hogan and Bischoff are creating a basis for TNA's homegrown talent -like Styles, Samoa Joe and Daniels- to 'get over' with the mainstream/casual fans who make up the bulk of TNA's support and viewership. The tactic may just be working, especially with TNA's recent Impact -shown in the US on Jan 21st- retaining a high rating of 1.3.
Time will tell if TNA can keep up the good work but at the moment the future of wrestling appears to be TNA.
Scott Booth - I have just finished my BA Honours degree in English Literature with Creative Writing, gaining a 2:1 (including a First Class ...
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