I was kicked back in my recliner prepared to watch an entire episode of Impact. Then, Chubba comes waddling out to the ring and I reached for my remote. I switched to WWE and despite my excitement over the return of DVD and Hardy, I never tuned back.
This is yet another example of how Hogan considers TNA his personal play toy and could not care less about the fans. You can't convince me he is stupid enough to believe that since Chubba is so hated that fans will love seeing him paired with Hall and Nash. Maybe back in the days before pro wrestling was recognized as entertainment people might have purchased tickets to see Chubba get his butt kicked. The fans are smarter now. They understand that the hard-earned money they spend on TNA tickets help fatten the wallet of the fat boy without any payoff to the fans. With the exception of some of his radio groupies, TNA fans don't want Chubba involved. If Hogan keeps forcing him on us, he is going to lose a lot of people like me- fans who had high hopes that TNA would offer a viable alternative to WWE.

I also thought RAW's ratings would be higher but they were still up from last week. Impact, on the other hand, I don't care if it was pre-taped that's embarassing. Once again, when they have characters and storyline they don't develope properly, why should the fans care? Just because the may put on some good action in the ring if it doesn't have meaning it's pointless. The Orlando Jordan segment was one of the worst things I've ever seen. We get it, his bi-sexual storyline is supposed to shock and awe. But it's just shockingly awful. Once again, why was RVD and Hardy involved with Young against The Band? And now they involve BTLS??? Just pointless and plain bad booking. I under stand it took them 30 minutes to set up the steel cage for that match. That a bush league move for a bush league company.

If only the numbers were so cut and dry...One can't compare impact on Thursdays to Impact on Mondays so simply there are far too many factors involved. I think the fact that Impact had anyone tune in the night after Wrestlemania says something in itself. Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling show of the year hands down and to think there are a number of industry fans out their that don't care enough to either tape it or watch the competition says a ton for TNA.

According to some website that I'm embarrassed to check (pwinsider maybe?), even the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony got a 1.7. That's gotta hurt.

Also, I liked that the women's first-blood match on TNA ended with what amounted to a paper cut ... although in WWE it still would have required a stop to the action as a licensed physician applied a Spider-Man Band-Aid to Daffney's forehead.

RESPONSE FROM KE: It was actually a 1.3, which I don;'t think is bad for 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. Plus, the headliner was Ted DiBiase, who, with all due respect, is not Steve Austin or Ric Flair.

This is the second week in a row that I have missed TNA due to the end of the Thursday broadcast. TNA should have left well-enough alone. I hope they learned their lesson.

Hopefully, Dixie sees reason soon and fires Hogan and co.

If I'd been watching live instead of it going to DVR, I'd have probably switched channels when "The Band" walked out with Chubba leading the way in full heel mode.

Maybe that's what most people did.

I am a pro TNA person but last night ther e was noway I wasn't watching raw after WM which is sad i guess because i watched a 3 second Diva's match instead of Tara & Daffney i guess TNA's days r numbered for the little bit that i did watch it was terrible.

I'm looking forward to reading your take on that mess of a show called TNA Impact.

In my household, I've got my shows and my wife has hers, which means the two-channel DVR gets split some nights. Either she watches her show and I tape wrestling, or vice versa—but either way, on Monday nights, only one of those wrestling shows is going to get watched.

This week...after WrestleMania? TNA didn't have a chance.

Well, I'm glad I got the hell out when I did.

Vince Russo, Hulk Hogan, and Eric Bischoff. Worst mixed drink EVER. The veritable Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with the fourth spot being filled by their accumulated egos and ridiculous decision making.

Anyone else getting tired of seeing WWE/WWF storylines rehashed? Sharkboy still gives me nightmares, and I'm not sure RVD, Hardy, the Knockout Division (nice papercut, Daffney), and Jay Lethal are enough to offset the sheer all encompassing BAD that TNA is throwing at my T.V. set.

the second I saw BTLS walking to the ring to open the show, I switched to Raw and never looked back.

If Hogan can't see the big difference between "heel heat" and fans chanting "Fire Bubba!" then this new regime has no hope.

Some interesting facts for you and your readers.The last time Impact hit a 0.6 was back in early 2006 when the WWE's Hall of Fame ceremony was being broadcasted at the same time. The only other time that Impact has ever hit 0.6 was in late 2005, just a few weeks after the show's debut on Spike.There were two other times that Impact hit 0.6 but they were not normal episodes: one was a "best of" special and the other was the New Year's Eve Knockouts special last year.So I think we should all give Bischoff & Hogan a big round of applause for helping TNA to score only its third ever 0.6 rating.As an aside, the segment with HBK's farewell speech scored a 4.1 rating.

The real issue is the nature of TNA's relationship with Spike. Hogan and Bischoff need time -- probably a lot of time -- to build a true competition with WWE. (They also need a clear direction and a lot more self-discipline, but that's another matter.)

But the network can't be happy, especially if it's helping to pay the freight for Hogan's cast of thousands. And if Spike decides it can do as well (or better) with old action movies or UFC reruns, then the Hogan Era will be short indeed.

Hogan will use his absence as an excuse for the low ratings and as justification to put himself on TV even more.

Hey Kev, what were the quarter hour breakdowns? Well, not all of them just the last 1/4 hour that featured Shawn and his overrun ratings. pretty sure they probably jumped.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I haven't seen the breakdown yet

I agree...leave the Orlando Jones angle at the curb.

But I actually found it interesting that they paired Bubba with the Band. I dislike Bubba as much as anyone and that's what I liked about it...they are trying to get the Band heat. Its too easy for people to cheer for the bad guys these days. And I was also taken back by the rub they gave to Eric Young. Either Young is in tight with the boys or maybe they have finally grown up and are thinking about the business. Either way the spot at the end was great.

Lethal...he's got a bright future and the intro with he and Hogan was priceless...I know some long time TNA fans are sick of his gimmick but I still think there is a lot they can do with it...

And @ the comment about the Hall of Fame drawing a 1.7...this shouldn't surprise anyone and why is this embarrassing for TNA...Any hard core wrestling fan is gonna tune in for some nostalgia and a little shoot....

and to be fair, as another reader commented, a 0.6 on Monday night is actually NOT a fall from a 1.0 - 1.3 on Thursdays. Its a joke compared to the competition, but considering audience share its around equal.

I actually pulled the all-time ratings numbers on the Monday Night Wars wiki listing, and its really interesting how Raw is winning with numbers that basically the "loser" in the Nitro-Raw wars would average. It says a lot about how many fans Vince turned away in the last few years post Rock/Austin.

So whats the timeline of who's really been in charge of TNA ?

I think the fact Flair has completely murdered the retirement stipulation for the rest of time hurt WWE's ratings a little bit.

Its tough to take Shawn's speech too seriously when Flair is wrestling Abyss a few channels over 2 years after getting the greatest sendoff in wrestling history

Kev, i'd like your opinion on this: I think TNA has got to get the Hell out of the "so called" IMPACT ZONE! Those people ARE not wrestling Fans! It's always a bad crowd, this weeks crowd was the quietest crowd I have ever heard. It seems very obvious to me that, once i learned one gets in free with park admission...that a certain amount of those people are just there to be on tv. I know they won't do it, but TNA would be better off in a traditionally rich wrestling town. Atlanta, for example. I used to attend "NWA/WCW saturday nite" tapings in Gainesville GA, & the crowd was always emotionally in it. Being in Atlanta would allow them more flexibility to move in and around the southeast and beyond. I live here that's why i used ATL, but they'd be better off any where...even back in Nashville. What is your take? I was almost embarressed for the guys. Mr. Anderson out there talking trash...and no reaction at all. Not cool!

I have to agree with the 10000s of posters here in that Chubba isnt generating heel heat. He's fomenting major discontent. TNA is PO'ing on the fans and PO'ing them off.

Interestingly enough, WWE AM Raw had a higher rating than Impact. AM Raw had a .7 rating while Impact had a .62 rating.

"0.6 on Monday night is actually NOT a fall from a 1.0 - 1.3 on Thursdays. Its a joke compared to the competition, but considering audience share its around equal. "

That's a new one, haven't heard that excuse yet. And you may have had a point if they didn't draw a 1.0 on March 8, or their highest rating ever on January 4. Bottom line is, TNA's rapidly losing their own audience. They've lost more than half of their Thursday audience and they're now drawing numbers lower than what they were doing at 11pm on Saturday nights, and that was before they had Hardy, RVD, Sting, Hogan, Bischoff, Angle, Anderson, etc. No matter what spin you put on it, this is disastrous news for TNA.

"I actually pulled the all-time ratings numbers on the Monday Night Wars wiki listing, and its really interesting how Raw is winning with numbers that basically the "loser" in the Nitro-Raw wars would average. It says a lot about how many fans Vince turned away in the last few years post Rock/Austin."

Any given rating in 2010 doesn't translate to the same number of viewers that the same rating did in 1998. In terms of how many people are watching, the 3.7s Raw does in 2010 are the same as doing a rating in the mid-to-upper 4s in 1998.

"Any given rating in 2010 doesn't translate to the same number of viewers that the same rating did in 1998. In terms of how many people are watching, the 3.7s Raw does in 2010 are the same as doing a rating in the mid-to-upper 4s in 1998."

I'm afraid you have me confused, looking at the total viewers from 1997-2000, it was higher numbers than 2010. So even though Raw is getting lower numbers with a smaller audience, its the same as higher numbers with a bigger audience? I hope you don't do your own taxes.

and Razor, I never said they weren't losing viewers on Mondays, I stated and correctly according to the numbers that they're share is down from Thursdays but the viewer totals are comparable also considering now facing direct competition.

"I'm afraid you have me confused, looking at the total viewers from 1997-2000, it was higher numbers than 2010. So even though Raw is getting lower numbers with a smaller audience, its the same as higher numbers with a bigger audience? I hope you don't do your own taxes."

Never said WWE had the same amount of viewers as they did in 2000. My point was that if a Raw in 1998 did a 3.7 and a Raw in 2010 did a 3.7, they did not have an equal number of viewers. The 2010 show had more.

For a more specific example, the most watched Raw ever (May 10, 1999) did an 8.1 rating with 9.2 million viewers watching. If a Raw in 2010 had 9.2 million viewers watching, the rating would be around a 6.0, not an 8.1.

Hulk Hogan is such an egomaniac, that he will shove him and his friends all over the product to the point where everyone in TNA will be sick. Hulk has a history of obvious bias and will use TNA to get back at matches he didn't like from years before. Anyone who doesn't believe that Hogan would do that should do some research onto the Ultimite warriors time in WCW, 3 months, 3 matches, and quite possibly the most embarrising match in wrestling history, with hogans own flashpaper fireball going into his face. Hogan specifically had Warrior hired by WCW, just to get back at his Wrestlemania 6 loss. He also has a history of bringing wrestlers who should be mid-to-low card status to near main event, just because of his relationship with them. Cubba's involvement in TNA is a prime example of how the most over-rated wrestler ever is unable to truly seperate himself from storylines. Hopefully, Carter will learn the lessons of WCW and restrict Hogans control and influence, lest the company become a WCW all over again.