Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

4. Was It Really A War, Though?

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To be blunt, no, no it wasn't.

When TNA and Spike TV decided to move Impact! from a Thursday to a Monday, there was always going to be an element of risk. What if the show completely tanked in the ratings? What if TNA came off looking bush league? What if Spike TV completely soured on TNA should this move backfire?

Airing Impact! on a Monday had been tested out previously, with 4 January 2010 seeing TNA's flagship going up against WWE Raw.

That episode of Impact! actually drew an impressive 2.2 million viewers, with a first-hour viewership of 2.5 million viewers. To put that into perspective, the 22 September 2020 edition of Raw averaged 1.67 million viewers - which is a scary indicator of just how horrendous WWE's ratings have regularly been in the last few years.

So happy were both TNA and Spike at that 2.2 million average, 8 March 2010 saw Impact! permanently moved to a Monday night. The first week of this permanent move resulted in Impact! bringing in 1.4 million viewers and a 0.98 rating, while WWE easily surpassed those numbers with 5.1 million viewers and a 3.4 rating.

The following week would see Impact! draw its lowest rating for two years, but Spike TV and TNA were determined to make this move work.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.