For the last 31 years, I have been a fan of the professional wrestling/sports entertainment business. For the last 17 years, I have been a working member of the wrestling business. For close to six years, I morphed back into a wrestling fan and lived through the Monday Night War…

…and eight days ago – I witnessed the Monday Night War – Round Two.

For background, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, “WWF” Monday Night Raw at the time and WCW Monday Nitro went head-to-head against each other to try and put the other company out of business. In other words, if you think of matches no other wrestling fan would ever thought would have taken place – this was the ultimate grudge match – but the winners were the fans. No matter what each company tried to do, the other tried harder – and the programming on each show was second-to-none…

…until March 23, 2001 – when Vince McMahon purchased World Championship Wrestling – and three days later, the final WCW Monday Nitro aired – and the Monday Night War was over.

For three years, WWE as it is now called was basically alone in the airing of wrestling programming, until on June 4, 2004 – Total Nonstop Action Wrestling made its debut on Fox Sports Net. In the beginning, it was like RC Cola vs. Pepsi, or a TV Dinner vs. a meal from a Four-Star restaurant. But for the last five-and-a-half years, TNA grew to a very impressive level by moving to Spike TV on October 1, 2005, signing big named wrestlers like Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle and Booker T – and showcasing amazing talent like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Homicide. Despite that success, however, they could still not even come close to attempting to lock horns with, as WCW Monday Nitro Vice President of Programming Eric Bischoff once called them – while ironically on Monday Night Raw – the McMahon Monopoly…

…enter Hulk Hogan.

On December 5, 2009, Hogan made an announcement during The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale that TNA Impact! as it is now called, normally airing on Thursdays – would go head to head with Monday Night Raw on Monday January 4, 2010 with a three-hour live broadcast – re-igniting the Monday Night War – and the adrenaline in each and every wrestling fan from both companies.

As far as myself goes – I was elated. For quite some time now, WWE Monday Night Raw has been lackluster as of late. The show has been run as if the powers that be in WWE knew that they had nothing to worry about – and while putting on a show – did now throw gasoline on the flame as they did during those six crucial years. So once TNA announced that – as the billboard they erected by Madison Square Garden, “It’s On Brother” – I waited with baited breath to see not only what TNA would put forth – but what Vince would do to counter the company he not only didn’t feel was a threat – but pretended didn’t exist…

…enter Bret “The Hitman” Hart.

For 12 years since, “The Montreal Screwjob” on November 9, 1997, Bret Hart refused to have anything to do with his former employer – leaving for WCW the very next day. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before WrestleMania XXII in 1996, but when he was asked to join his fellow inductees the night of the pay-per-view – he declined. So the night – ironically and coincidentally – he finally re-appeared on the McMahon Monopoly, it was Hart vs. Hogan not in the ring, but on separate networks. It was the fans that would have to pick which one of these icons were the one to watch – and only they would determine the winner…

…enter Ric Flair.

The former 16-time NWA, WCW and WWE World Heavyweight Champion, who was given a multi-million-dollar sendoff from the WWE upon his retirement after WrestleMania 24 which will never be matched again in this industry – suddenly and without almost anyone’s knowledge appeared on TNA the very same night of Round Two of the Monday Night War – and raised not only the bar of the now Round Two of the War – but the ratings. When it was all said and done, the ratings showed that, much like the beginning of the first Monday Night War – WWE Monday Night Raw came out on top – averaging 5.6 million viewers. TNA Impact! on the other hand – averaged 2.2 million viewers. Despite not beating Raw in the ratings, TNA managed to set a new record for Impact!, beating the previous one of 1.97 million viewers in April of 2009.

Almost as soon as the day after the two companies went head-to-head, it was reported that due to the increase in TNA’s ratings – a move to Monday nights for them permanently is “very likely,” ensuring that a second Monday Night War could happen very, very soon.

So what will happen if there is another Monday Night War? Who will be the single driving force that will ensure not only the success and dominance of one company over the other – but the guarantee of over-the-top-rope programming from each company – and an assurance of a great Monday night no matter which wrestling program you watch?...

…enter you.