Do You Feel It?

Submitted By Caroline Walsh on 12/07/09

By Patrick Kelley Those of us who were wrestling fans back in the late 90s probably remember a time when a Monday Night was the best night of the week. There was a time where a wrestling fan like myself might have two TVs on in different rooms (possibly three during Football season) because of what was on that night. It was a time that wrestling fans remember as "The Monday Night Wars" From 1997-1998, we had probably the two most exciting years in wrestling history. The reason for that is because of The Monday Night Wars. The Ratings battles between the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling, the only company in history to ever challenge the WWF/E to the title of the leading brand in Professional Wrestling. During that time, we saw the Rise of the New World Order, led by former all American Good Guy Hollywood Hogan as they tore through and destroyed everything in their path. We saw the birth of WWF Attitude, which paved the way for stars like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & D-Generation X become some of the most popular stars around while also blurring the lines between right & wrong. We saw the undefeated streak of Goldberg, a man whose amazing path of victories culminated with him defeating Hollywood Hogan for the World Title. Also what discussion about late 90s wrestling would be complete without mentioning The Jabroni Beating, Pie Eating, Trailblazing, Eye Brow Raising, Heart Stomping, Elbow Dropping, People's Champ THE ROCK!!! It was an exciting time. 97-98 was when we saw the best of both shows (in my opinion), and it challenged wrestling fans every week. Which show would you watch on Monday Night? WWF Monday Night Raw or WCW Monday Nitro? At one time, this was a tough decision. Sure by in 1996, WCW Nitro was the more revolutionary product and was the no-brainer to watch back then, and the time 2000 rolled around, WWF Raw was far & away the better show, but for a couple of years, both shows were viable options. I'll be honest. I miss those times. I miss having two really strong wrestling products that can compete for being the best in the industry. I miss having two TVs on in different rooms and running back and forth to check out what both WWF & WCW were doing. When WCW was sold to Vince McMahon in 2001, its been a lackluster time for wrestling fans ever since. Wrestling just isn't as fun as it used to be. Even towards the end when WCW was lousy, it was still nice to have that second option on Monday Nights, especially when Raw would be preempted for the Dog Show. However, once the WWF became the only game in town, I think most will agree that wrestling definitely lost its spark. The loss of ECW also contributed to this, and the horrible WCW/ECW Invasion angle that the WWF did was nothing short of a joke that watered down the rival companies to the point of absurdity. Immediately following 2001, the only options for wrestling fans were WWF (soon to be renamed WWE), and if you didn't like their product, then tough luck. You could always check out the Independent companies or go back and watch your old tape collection, but in the end, it just wasn't the same as having a really strong rival to Vince McMahon's empire. Even somebody like me who watched the WWF religiously could see the changes almost immediately. Since 2001, I have watched as the life & energy Raw once had get slowly sucked out of it to the point that it is the unwatchable abomination that it is now. WWE Raw in 2009 is so bad, I can not physically make myself sit through more than 10 minutes of it. Its just painful. The writing is abysmal. The story lines don't make sense. The comedy (and I use that term very loosely) is just childish and insulting. Having special celebrity guest hosts every week is nothing but a cheap gimmick to make up for the fact that they don't know how to write good story lines anymore. A lot of people have blamed this on the WWE recently deciding to go "PG" and become more family friendly, but I don't buy it. Pixar makes G Rated movies with an entertainment value that puts the WWE to shame. I'll go the extra mile & say that shows like Spongebob Squarepants are more intelligent & entertaining than anything Raw has given audiences this year. Also, for all the flack WCW catches for being the losing company in the war, their product was amazing in 1997, and I would say that their stuff was mostly "PG". Right now, WWE Raw is an embarrassment, not just to the wrestling industry, but to entertainment as a whole. It deserves to be canceled. I have seen shows that are far better get taken off the air after a season or two (Sarah Connor Chronicles comes to mind), and this garbage is still permitted on the airwaves on Monday Nights because WWE is an established brand name that is able to survive off past glories. The only thing that keeps WWE Raw from being worse than WCW Nitro in 2000 is WCW's infamous decision of putting their World Title on D-List actor David Arquette. And you know what? WWE is slowly closing that gap every week. One interesting story this decade has been the little Wrestling Company that could, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA (snicker snicker) started in 2002 under a weekly PPV format, something that most people (myself included) thought wouldn't last more than a few weeks. At certain points of their history (especially in the first year) it seemed like TNA was doomed for failure. However, since then, TNA has slowly grown into the 2nd largest wrestling company around. They eventually started doing weekly shows on Fox Sports Net with a Monthly PPV, and soon after that, they got moved onto SpikeTV where they now have a 2 hour time slot on Thursday Nights for their show "TNA: Impact". They've still got a long way to go before they come anywhere near matching the WWE, but for them to have survived all the hardships and to go through all the ups and downs to be where they are now, it is pretty remarkable. If I were going to critique them creatively, TNA can be hit & miss. At times they have been amazing, and at times they've been downright awful. However, in 2009, I'll say that a bad episode of Impact is still better (or at least less painful) than the standard episode of Raw. But even with TNA around, its still not the same as having WCW back. What we had then was two very strong companies battling for ratings on Monday Nights which eventually spread into both companies getting secondary shows over the course of the week. What we have now is WWE having a total of 6 hours of programming a week, including the original live Monday Night show, & the much smaller company with a two hour taped show on Thursdays. However, something will be happening very soon. On January 4th, 2010, TNA will be broadcasting a special 3-Hour live edition of Impact where they will debut there newest acquisition, "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. What will Hogan's role be? Will he wrestle? Who knows? Hogan is on the wrong side of 50, and one can only wonder how much gas he has left in the tank. But Hogan's mere presence, especially these days, always brings questions, speculation, controversy, & a passionate fan reaction (cheers & boos) and that kind of presence brings intrigue & excitement to the show. Also, TNA has a chance to showcase their own roster, including talents like World Champion "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, and various other wrestling talents both past & present. TNA's Special Monday Night 3 Hour Impact is also a great chance for some major surprises & debuts, something that was the norm for both WWF & WCW during the Monday Night Wars. Talents would jump ship all the time from one show to another. In 1995, the first big hit was Lex Luger appearing on the very first WCW Nitro just eight days after working a WWF PPV event. With the WWE's current No Compete Clause in all the talents contracts, there is no longer any chance of that happening again since the talents now have to wait 90 days before working for another company. However, there are still some interesting possibilities as to who TNA might sign so that they can really generate some excitement with a big surprise for their big show. The best name I think they could get would be Rob Van Dam, but we'll see how it all plays out. This show is also a chance for TNA to put on a very different kind of show. Their usual Impacts are taped in advance. At one time they were even taping an entire month's worth of shows in about three days. The problem with this kind of format is that with the internet, its impossible to keep anything secret. If they did anything like a big debut or have a major storyline angle, it was sure to be leaked onto the net, and the secrets don't stay secret for very long. And even if one avoids reading the spoilers prior to watching Impact, anyone can tell the difference between a show that is taped and one that is live. The atmosphere is different and with taped shows, the editing can be quite noticeable. The live shows are just way more exciting. With a live show on a Monday Night, their is an opportunity to put on a very spontaneous & exciting show where no one knows for what is going to happen. What about WWE Raw? What will they offer on January 4th? Well the norm for a while now has been the same matches week after week, horrendous skits featuring a celebrity guest host, the antics of a leprechaun, & and the "comedic" act of two men in their 40s trying to pass themselves off as Rebellious Degenerates even though one is a Born Again Christian & the other is married to Vince McMahon's daughter. I know I talked about the excitement of a live wrestling show, but Raw hasn't had that "live show" feel to it in ages. Week in and week out, this is what the viewers are treated to and I can not understand how anybody of average intelligence or higher can actually sit through it. Now there is a chance that Raw won't be the same old garbage on January 4th. For all we know, TNA putting on a show at the same night & time will light a fire under the creative team and they might actually give fans a show that is worth watching. Also, there are rumors that the celebrity guest host for that edition of Raw will be none other than The Rock himself. Now I will take a retired wrestler-turned movie star Dwayne Johnson over pretty much everybody in the WWE's current crop of main event talent, so to see him back, even if just for one night, will be enough to at least peak my interest. If nothing else, at least having him there will be nostalgic. So what will I be doing on January 4th 2010...I will be doing something I haven't done in over a decade. I will be watching both WWE Raw & TNA Impact with two TVs on and running back and forth to see what both shows are doing. If Raw is as bad as ever, that one TV will go off. I would say right now that neither WWE or TNA are anywhere near the level of excitement that WWF & WCW were back in the day. I also do not expect TNA to beat WWE in the ratings (although it'll be interesting to see if they are able to cause Raw to take a hit). However, a Monday night battle, even if it is just for one night, will be a welcomed change of pace for the Wrestling Industry, and it will be very nice to have at least a small taste of the excitement that I used to have. Hopefully it turns out to be a night that wrestling fans will never forget. :: DISCUSS THIS POST ON THE FORUMS! :: SEE MICKIE JAMES & THE DIVAS NUDE! :: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S THROUGH OUR STORE! :: GO BACK TO THE HOME PAGE WRESTLING EPICENTER STORE IS OPEN! THE HOTTEST WRESTLING DVD'S ARE NOW AVAILABLE! We've got hundreds of pro wrestling DVD's at your fingertips! All your favorite stars such as Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Sting, Ric Flair, Bruiser Brody, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Harley Race, Andre the Giant, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Booker T, & countless others! We've also got the Divas! 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