WWE, TNA, ROH: Is the Professional Wrestling Industry Destined for Ratings War?

The main reason that ECW and WCW were on the rise in the 1990s was because they were offering something different than the over the top, and frankly cartoon like style of the WWF(E). TNA and ROH are also offering their own unique take on sports entertainment. Recent events lead me to believe that the wrestling industry is setting itself up for another round of competition for ratings.

WCW's rise started because it offered a different style of sports entertainment. TNA is also like this and has many differences from the WWE that give it, it's own style and attracts more people by the day. First thing you would probably notice is their six-sided ring. This allows for more, high paced action and adds a sense of unpredictability. They also have two different entrance ramps, with one being reserved for faces and the other for heels. This also allows TNA to make parts of their show more unpredictable and interesting because a wrestler can enter from either ramp and surprise people. The final difference is the X Division. It is like the WWE's cruiserweight division except it does not exclude someone because of their weight class. In fact, the current X Division champion is Samoa Joe, who is a super heavyweight! They've even invented the Ultimate X match so that they could display the X Division's athleticism.

TNA is also similar to WCW because they are starting to be a place for wrestlers to go if they can not make it in the WWE or they are sick of the WWE. One example good example of this is Christian Cage. He had done extremely well in the tag team division of WWE but when he went into singles wrestling, he wasn't heading anywhere. He was main event talent but he was stuck jobbing to the main event wrestlers and feuding for the Intercontinental Championship. He jumped to TNA and won the NWA/TNA Heavyweight Championship. Also, Kurt Angle was fired from the WWE because they were worried that he was pushing himself too hard. TNA was perfect for him because it is taped in advance and there is no need for travel.

Ring of Honor is similar to ECW in that it is a small regional promotion with a loyal following. They offer something even more different than the other two can provide: a wrestling show with more wrestling than drama. If you want proof, read about Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk. They had three matches together with them going 60 minutes in each one, and the second one was the first match since 1997 to receive five stars from Dave Meltzer. They are also similar to ECW because they are surviving on DVD and ticket sales for their main revenue. They finally inked a PPV deal and their first PPV was on DISH Network on July 1, 2007 which cost only $9.95 and they plan on doing one every 60 days. This is a good step for them, but what they really need is a national TV deal. ECW had one with TNN entitled ECW on TNN in 1999 but they were canceled even though they were the highest rated show on TNN. This has been the main reason given for the failure of ECW in early 2001.

If you watched wrestling before the Monday Night Wars, and during it, you noticed a difference in the quality of wrestling storylines and matches. They were good, they were edgy, and they were interesting. Let's hope that I'm right and these three promotions will compete in the near future. If they do, I have a feeling we are in for one hell of a ride.