By Tony Donofrio, Torch specialist

5 REASONS TNA COULD SUCCEED BY GOING HEAD TO HEAD ON MONDAY NIGHTS

(1) It's an alternative: People love alternatives and there will be interest just for that reason.

(2) They have good wrestlers: You can't deny talent and TNA has plenty of it. Have they dropped the ball in some respects under the new regime? Yes, in the Tag and X Divisions. However, you can't hold down talent for long (unless you're Shelton Benjamin) and TNA has it. Hogan has consistently talked about how the young guys in TNA are great workers. Well, it's time to put some hustle behind that muscle.

(3) Star power is growing: Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Anderson (Kennedy), Hardy (maybe), and RVD (rumored as of this writing). Those guys weren't there even six months ago and people recognize names and will want to see what they're up to. All of the aforementioned wrestlers made their names in other companies and could bring over a strong portion of WWE's audience.

(4) The Knockouts: They are better looking, collectively, than WWE's Divas. Not by much, but sex appeal sells. They're consistently featured in the top rated quarter-hours on TNA and there's no reason why that would change. Oh...and they're pretty good wrestlers too. Their division is better than what you'll see on Raw. Smackdown COULD compete in the ring, but WWE limits how much the Smackdown divas are featured. This is definitely one division that TNA could use to set themselves apart from WWE. TNA could give new meaning to "Strong, Sexy, and Powerful" and show/remind WWE a thing or two about women's wrestling.

(5) Surprises: Eric Bischoff is good at some things and one of them is keeping things a secret and surprising the audience, whether it's live or on TV. However, he needs to keep them spread out and not set the bar too high. On January 4, there were almost too many for one show. Now, ratings are starting to slip back to pre-Jan. 4 levels. Surprises need to be done in moderation and it could be successful. In my opinion, 80 percent of the time, the predictable route is the way to go. Surprises for the sake of just surprising people will (a) fall flat and (b) don't come off as surprises anymore; they become redundant.

5 REASONS TNA COULD FAIL BY GOING HEAD TO HEAD ON MONDAY NIGHTS

(1) Hogan and his buddies drag the show down: With the addition of The Nasty Boys and Bubba the Love Sponge (don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of his but not in TNA), you have to wonder whether Hogan will start to give only his buddies spots that they don't really deserve. That was one of the downfalls of WCW. If the wrong guys are being pushed in the wrong places because of their social status with Hogan, we could see the downfall of TNA.

(2) They have good wrestlers...but won't use them: My second point above was that TNA has some great in-ring guys. However, if they're misused or not used at all, they can't help the compan and they'll become part of what will tear down the company. The Tag and X Divisions have long been strong staples of what TNA is. Those two divisions have taken steps back since the Hogan/Bischoff regime took over. One of the reasons that some wrestling fans will prefer TNA to WWE is because of the in-ring talent. By misusing/not using available talent, it could become a major disservice to TNA.

(3) Minor League setup: Despite all the changes in the Impact Zone, Impact still has a minor league look and feel when I watch it on TV. It doesn't have the same atmosphere that you get when you switch over to Monday Night Raw. I know it will take some time still under the new regime for TNA to be able to draw and fill (or at least come close to) a major arena, but to the casual or first time viewer, TNA might not look "big league" enough.

(4) Time slot: I don't agree with the decision for TNA to go toe-to-toe with WWE right now in the 9-11 p.m. time slot. I believe they should have gone from 8-10. I think in six months or a year, you will see TNA and Spike shift Impact to that timeslot. I believe the logical step was to start out at 8-10 and then, if successful, shift to 9-11. I could be wrong, but I think this was a bad decision even before the regular Monday Night Impact debuts. I guess time will tell.

(5) Money: Now, I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that Dixie Carter can't keep up with Vince McMahon's spending. Vince has also "been there, done that" in terms of competing. Of course, so have Hogan and Bischoff, but they've let money burn holes in their pockets before and we know what the end result was. Right now, TNA is trying to bring in big name talent. Those names can't be coming in at bargain prices. This is also at a time when Vince McMahon is in a good way financially. Back in '95 and '96, McMahon was still reeling from the steroid trial and the WWF was struggling as a company. If TNA does become a legit threat in the coming months and years, can Dixie Carter keep up with and/or out spend a mogul like Vince McMahon? Also, with Carter's current spending on big name talent, will any current young and talented TNA wrestlers have to be spared to pay the bigger names? Money is not the biggest factor right now in the impending Monday Night War II. But, it sure could be and that's when things will really start to get interesting.

Tony Donofrio is a Specialist for the Torch covering WWE PPVs monthly and contributes to the Torch Roundtable Reviews on a weekly basis. You can contact Tony at PWTorchTD@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TonyDonofrio.

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt