TNA upstages the return of Bret Hart

This post is about pro wrestling, so I'll apologize up front for no doubt disappointing many of you. But, it was a landmark night Monday. (For any actual wrestling fans reading this, massive spoilers follow!)

For a couple weeks now, TNA has been hyping the debut of Hulk Hogan. For the casual wrestling fans reading, yes, he is still around. He will be allegedly working in a management role for TNA, along with Eric Bischoff, and probably will not be wrestling much. This could be good, bad or horrifically bad - The rap on Hogan in the past has been that he dominates backstage politics and keeps younger guys down on the card.

However, if last night is any indication, TNA is on the right track with the whole angle. Hogan said that there would be a major talent reorganization, and that guys would have to earn their spot - including ex-NWO friends Kevin Nash, (a very drunk and fat-looking) Scott Hall and Sean "X-Pac" Waltman.

Hogan debuted at 9 p.m., which was right when WWE's Raw was unleashing their own returning star - Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Except for a single taped spot about two years ago and a Hall of Fame induction, Hart hasn't been on WWE programming for about 12 years. In a blending of the real and fake worlds of professional wrestling, Hart got screwed over in an incident known as the Montreal Screwjob.

Hart's return was a bit more muted and less effective than Hogan's, although it did produce a better "Hell has frozen over" moment - A hug between Hart and nemesis Shawn Michaels. However, the rest of the show was a bit of a letdown. Outside of a stellar tag team match (Michaels and HHH vs. my favorite wrestler, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show), the rest of the matches felt like filler. The ending featured a confrontation between Hart and WWE owner Vince McMahon, and it had McMahon cheap-shotting Hart.

TNA definitely won the night though, going all out with some shocking guests. Although their very first match of the night blew - it was a no decision in a CAGE MATCH! - this was immediately rectified by the surprise debut of Jeff Hardy, who was last seen as a world champion in the WWE. This is a major get for the TNA, arguably on the same level with Hogan, given Hardy's popularity when he left the WWE. I'm a bit surprised he wasn't debuted more prominently, but he's yet another talented worker for TNA.

Ric Flair also made an appearance, mostly just throwing the "Wooooo!" out there. Likewise, there were cameos by Val Venis, who I feel could have been a big deal in wrestling if he could have ever stayed healthy, and Orlando Jordan. (For the unfamiliar, Val Venis [left] was a pseudo-porn star slash ladies' man on WWE programming in the mid to late 1990s who was, unfortunately, hurt constantly. And yeah, I do feel a little bit gay for posting this picture, but then again, I am a pro wrestling fan...)

While a lot of TNA's booking seemed odd, especially making almost all of the titles change hands, the product did seem much better than the WWE's. This was especially true for the respective main events. TNA ended with A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle, for the title, and both wrestlers put on a 20ish minute clinic with plenty of nearfalls. WWE had Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton, a once-hot feud that has gotten a bit stale, and had Orton go clean over Kingston for no good reason.

I'm not normally a TNA fan, but I definitely feel that they won the first of these Monday night skirmishes. The real test will be the company's staying power - They have shown great promise in the past, only to piss it away on stupid, silly angles. I think they already made a mistake in just airing a rebroadcast of Monday's show for their usual Thursday time slot, instead of going with a new show to capitalize on the momentum. But, I think last night's show proved that TNA can fight toe-to-toe with the WWE.

The Bret Hart photo is from this gallery at WWE.com. Hogan's photo comes from the gallery of Monday's photos at TNAwrestling.com. And Val Venis' photo comes from here.