TNA's 10 Most Costly Mistakes

8. Monday Night War 2.0

Rob Van Dam X Division Champion
impactwrestling.com

Ever since TNA began airing on Spike TV on Saturday nights in Oct. of 2005, many fans wanted them to move Impact to Monday nights. It was their hopes that we’d see a new Monday Night War. Wrestling would once again breakthrough into the mainstream, and another boom period would commence.

In 2010, fans got their wish, and it was a complete massacre.

Hulk Hogan’s first appearance on Impact drew a 1.5 rating. It was a big number for them, and remains the highest they’ve ever drawn. As soon as Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Hulk saw that figure, they convinced Dixie Carter and Spike TV to move their flagship show to battle Raw. However, after that 1.5 rating, Impact dipped back to where it was before the two major WCW players joined up. The momentum was already gone before the war started.

Despite the additions of Rob Van Dam, Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy, TNA drew embarrassing ratings up against Raw, even reaching a stunningly low .5.

Within a few weeks they had to go back to their old timeslot, and made it seem like it was a triumphant return. The audience saw right through it, and even the most loyal TNA fans had to realize that their company's reputation was more damaged than ever.

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As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com