Next Thursday TNA Impact takes its weekly show live at 8 PM. While this is definitely a good thing and many positives can come from this show I wanted to make a list of decisions they could make to screw it up.

5. Sting winning the TNA World Title-Sting is returning in the first match of the night against champion Bobby Roode. Roode just became the longest reigning champion ever in TNA which was handled brilliantly last week with giving AJ Styles the chance to defend his record in a great first segment of the show that had Hogan choosing between Hardy, Angle, Styles, and Bully Ray to end Roode's reign which you should watch if you haven't seen it. I can see it being tempting to take the belt off Roode to show that this is the kind of unpredictable thing that can happen on our weekly show but putting the belt on Sting is showcasing the past and not the future and not what Impact needs right now.

4. Having no OMG Segments-The greatest thing about going live is being able to surprise the fans. If I remember correctly last time Impact went live on Monday nights they introduced Rob Van Dam which was a good idea but then had a mess of an end segment with a bunch of people running in that didn't really make sense character wise. Still, just look at the late 90's era for inspiration. You'd have Sting coming from the rafters to save the day, Austin coming in to beat up everyone and have a stunnerfest, buses and limos exploding, Stone Cold being arrested, etc. Those are the kind of moments outside of a match that get you to go wow I wonder what they are going to do next week. Impact doesn't usually have these so it's something they are going to have to change if they really want the viewers to come in.

3. Don't overuse Hogans-Hulk Hogan still has his place in wrestling. Having a legend like him works with a certain crowd. But another crowd (a lot of the IWC) despises Hogan. The important thought is that he is no longer a wrestler so do not give him too much time that takes away from wrestlers. Brooke Hogan is also making her debut on the show which I could see going over either way. She has come off really well in interviews so far and has the good idea to start having women's wrestling more storyline based. I was very skeptical originally but she might do fine. Still, she is not going to wrestle so feature her lightly.

2. Don't bring out the stars-Bobby Roode and Sting are guaranteed to appear. This is good. Bring out the other big time guys and gals too. AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Rob Van Dam, Bully Ray, Mr. Anderson, James Storm, Christopher Daniels and Kaz, Gail Kim, Mickie James, Eric Young, Tara (if she's around??), The Pope (I hope), Crimson (I guess), and maybe King Mo if he is debuting. We don't need to see Robbie E and Rob T or Garett Bischoff. Live TV time is valuable especially on the first day you can't waste it on any but the best. Leaving them off would be a big mistake.

1. Lack of standout matches-Sting vs. Roode in a Lumberjack Match is a great idea. What a better way to set yourself apart from WWE than having SOME specialty type matches oh and not being scared of blood. I'm not really promoting hardcore matches because once you take the focus off of the wrestling and onto the weapons you are diminishing the talent. But what about a No DQ match where you might see someone grab a chair or choke someone out with the microphone cord or fight outside of the ring or in the back or be put through the announce table. It won't happen this week but keep a ladder match or steel cage in mind. I know you have to save your best stuff for PPV but based on the buyrates for TNA PPVs lately they need something on TV to get people excited about paying money to watch the pay per view. Plus, if people start hearing about TNA having matches weekly that are amazing more people are likely to tune in. That's sort of what got them going in the first place.