The “Tuesday Night Wars” won't happen. TNA Wrestling has announced that they'll be moving to Thursday nights hot on the heels of their biggest buzz since joining Pop TV.
Pop TV and TNA revealed the decision Thursday, opting to switch nights as WWE Smackdown will go live on USA starting July 19. We at Fightful reported two weeks ago on Twitter that the company was considering the move. TNA issued the following statement:
“On Tuesday, July 12, IMPACT WRESTLING on Pop is LIVE from Universal Studios Florida with Destination X, as the Stars of IMPACT WRESTLING’s signature high-flying, no-limits X-Division take center stage. And, in the Main Event it will be Title vs Title as X Division Champion Eddie Edwards faces TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley inside the six-sided ring. For the first time ever at Destination X, the winner of the Title vs Title match will walk away with the X Division and the TNA World Titles.”
Fightful.com also reached out to several TNA talents about the move. Shane Helms noted that “It was the night after Wednesday,” when first reached for comment, before adding “A "Tuesday Night War" woulda been fun and both sides (the wrestlers especially) would've enjoyed that, but in the age of DVR, channel-changing isn't as necessary as it used to be. This move gives fans a better chance to watch everything and as I fan myself, I can appreciate that.”
We also spoke to “The Pope” D'Angelo Dinero, who said “Thursday Nights is where Impact Wrestling initially built it's audience and became a staple in over a million households on a weekly basis. Moving back to Thursdays – which has always proven to be one of the stronger wrestling nights of the week – is a great move by TNA as we look to reach out and expand our viewing audience on Pop TV.”
As mentioned, TNA is fresh off of “The Final Deletion,” a segment featuring Matt and Jeff Hardy that set records on the network across several demographics.
