The ratings are in for Week 1 of the Monday Night Wars Part 2, and I'm surprised by the numbers for both Raw and TNA Impact.
Both shows had lower ratings than what I expected. Raw did a 3.4, and Impact came in at 1.0. Raw had done a 3.8 and 3.7 the past two weeks (up from the 3.4 to 3.6 range of the preceding weeks), while Impact had dipped to 1.1 the past two weeks after doing a 1.2 the three previous weeks and a 1.4 on Jan. 28, which is a company-record for a Thursday episode. I figured the buzz surrounding Monday's Impact would get the show's ratings back up to the 1.4 range.
On the surface, the Impact rating is disappointing – especially since TNA's Jan. 4 head-to-head special episode did a 1.5 – but the thing to keep in mind is that WWE is in full WrestleMania mode, and the fact that the Raw rating had a significant decrease seems to indicate that Impact did cut into Raw's audience.
I thought Impact was a good show – and judging by the poll on this blog, so did the majority of people who watched both programs – so I hope the TNA decision makers don't panic and decide to abruptly go in another direction creatively. The hardcore wrestling fans liked what they saw, but it's going to take time to lure casual viewers. If TNA produces compelling television on a consistent basis, the audience will grow, and if changes need to be made, they should be tweaks, not full-scale resets at this point.