The Big Bag of News That Will Change 2007

With so much news taking place over the last few weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to give our O-sters the heads up on what is going on and how this will all affect 2007.

Not since 2001 has the wrestling industry changed as much as it did in 2006. 2007 is bound to be an even more newsworthy year and the industry we all know and love could go under some serious restructuring depending on how the chips fall.

The big news is the potential war between Ulitmate Fighting Championship and WWE’s Mixed Martial Arts group.

What is going to happen with WWE’s venture into MMA? The current plan of WWE is to start their own MMA group from scratch and not purchase Pride from Dream Stage Entertainment as was rumored before. Details are cloudy, but the current strategy is to make this MMA brand of WWE a Heavyweight promotion operated by Shane McMahon.

What affect will this have on the wrestling product? Time will certainly tell. All I can speculate for now is that Dana White and UFC have a lot of money and will do whatever they can to combat any WWE foray into Mixed Martial Arts. More importantly, 2007 marks the year that UFC needs to prove that they are here to stay and are not just some 'fad' sport that will fade into obscurity.

The new wrestling promotion to keep your eye on is not TNA. Wrestling Society X on MTV seems to be putting some major plans together on possible house show tours and pay-per-view events. With weekly television on a network with strong viewership and a roster of exciting talent such as Vampiro, Teddy Hart and the possible influx of talent from Dragon Gate could make this new promotion the one to watch.

Money and production values are their strengths, as being under the Viacom umbrella will allow them to make mistakes and have the resources to fix them. This is an opportunity that some new promotions almost never have.

And where will Paul Heyman land? Unless Vince Russo slips on a banana peel and hits his head so bad he gets amnesia, I doubt we will see Heyman in TNA. My guess is he will either go back to WWE in some capacity or take a hiatus from wrestling altogether. The man is burnt out and needs a break from wrestling. His baby - ECW - is now being turned into a shell of his original vision. The man needs to refocus.

The potential free agents in 2007 could make major “iMPACTs” in 2007. The contract of Rey Misterio is coming to an end in May and you know people in TNA are already calling to ask how is knee is healing. Rey is close friends with Konnan and he would be a perfect fit in the young company. RVD and WWE grow more separate by the day and some are speculating that 2007 will mark the end of “Mr. Monday Night” as a WWE fixture. RVD VS. A.J. Styles - can you say "OOOOH!"?

"iMPACT!" will become a two-hour show in 2007 and the future of the company rests on whether they can translate the added time into success on PPV and live events. 2007 will be the make or break for this promotion. Will they succeed? The last time Vince Russo had two hours to play with, WCW went out of business.

2007 looks to be a crazy year if you’re a fan of wrestling and MMA. And remember, Tha O Show will be your tour guides into the madness...buckle up!

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