Who Benefits?

A long time ago a very smart man told me that the easiest way to understand human nature was with one simple question… Who Benefits?

So watching Monday Night Wars v2.0 last night the Mofo started asking himself who benefits. Well some of them are obvious:

Hulk Hogan: Before TNA came calling Hogan was the brink of obscurity from anything other than the tabloids. He was facing serious financial distress without much in the way of potential income. He was coming off a serious flop of an Australia tour. Now he’s the centerpiece of the number two promotion in the country and what’s more that promotion can’t afford for him to fail. TNA has hitch their wagon to Hogan so totally that it would take an act of god for him to lose power.

Kevin Nash: He was in a mid-card angle with Eric Young, but now he’s in the company’s top angle.

Ric Flair: He was in a similar situation to Hogan. Financial trouble. Australia flop. No WWE interest. Now he going to be a major focus for the number two company in the country. He does, however, have to work with two guys he’s always claimed to hate in Russo and Bischoff.

Scott Hall: Two weeks ago he was trying to get gigs as an announcer for indie groups in Arkansas on the back of working with Sid. Now he’s in the top angle in TNA.

Sean Waltman: Mid-card in Mexico to the top angle in TNA. From everything I’ve heard about Waltman in Mexico he was reliable and his work was good so he could have the most upside of anyone in this group.

Jeff Hardy: Facing indictment for felony drug charges, he gets a contract and a big spot in another company.

Former WWE Mid-Carders: Orlando Jordan, Val Venis, Nasty Boys, Shannon Moore. Hell DeAngelo Dinero went over on Desmond Wolfe. I doubt it stops there. I’m willing to bet there will be more “surprises” next week and the week after. And let’s be honest there could be value in all of these guys, but not if they just trot them out as the same guys. Orlando Jordan has improved immensely since he left the WWE, give him a make over and a new character that people can take seriously so they don’t see him as the guy who was at the bottom of the card in WWE. Sean Morley is a really good worker and a really good promo, but the Val Venis character was played out 8 years ago, let the guy do something new. A quick garbage match feud between Team 3D and Knobbs and Saggs could be fine filler. Shannon Moore with a makeover could have value. Its up to TNA to make it happen.

TNA: They got their record rating on Monday. That’s a win. They’ve gotten a ton of talk as of late. Now they have to capitalize on it. If the Mofo were them he would be pushing the next PPV like crazy starting the first moments of the next show. If they don’t do a record buyrate on their next PPV then this win quickly becomes a loss. Considering all of the money that they are putting out in new payroll increasing their buyrates is the only conceivable way that they can stay solvent.

WWE: All TNA has to do is raise their ratings some. All they have to do is annoy Vince McMahon. If that happens Vince will get motivated and a motivated Vince is a dangerous Vince and that can only be good for the WWE.

Wrestling Fans: The Mofo will admit it. He was flipping back and forth all Monday night and was spending more time on Spike than he was on USA. They scored a 1.5 on Monday Night. They’ve gotta be doing cartwheels over that. That’s gotta be enough for them to consider moving to Monday night. That head to head battle can only be good for the fans.

Indie Wrestlers: Now if Vince chooses to ignore TNA then not so much, but if TNA’s ratings improve and the WWE has to react then you have to figure that they will go into a talent acquisition mode like they did back when WCW became a threat. Think of all the guys that they signed when WCW signed away all their stars. Edge, Austin, Rock, Christian, Val, Albert, Test, HHH, the Hardys, Kurt Angle, ect, ect. There are a lot of guys right now hoping and praying for TNA’s success.

Of course for everyone who benefits there are also those that lose:

ROH: The Mofo honestly forgot that they were on Monday night. If TNA moves to Monday permanently then it would be hard to believe that ROH’s already small audience would stick around. ROH is really going to have to work to differentiate themselves if they are going to carve out their place in the marketplace.

ROH wrestlers: Just when it looked like there was going to be a run on ROH guys it looks like most of their spots have been gobbled up by former WWE guys.

Non-former WWE TNA midcarders: Eric Young: barely on the show, Beer Money: only appearance was getting laid out, Matt Morgan/Hernandez: 60 second squash match, Abyss/Samoa Joe: throw away match, Daniels: not on the show, Homicide: punked by Hardy (and WTF with that chair shot! Damn.) Creed, Suicide, Lethal, Machine Guns, World Elite, British Invasion: shoved in a horrible throwaway match or not on the show. It’s going to be tough to carve out their place with all of these new acquisition.

Indie Wrestlers Who Don’t Fit the WWE Cookie Cutter: Yeah the Mofo put Indie Wrestlers on the Benefits, but this could be terrible the ones who don’t have the look/height the WWE seems to want. If Vince doesn’t get motivated and go on an acquisition spree then The Mofo can’t see there being a lot of space for new unknown guys. TNA just filled almost a dozen new spots with former WWE guys, it doesn’t look like they will be looking for any unknowns any time soon so anyone under 6’3″ could be s.o.l.

So what do you think? Who benefits most from Monday Night Wars v2.0? Who loses the most?