I've been a professional wrestling fan for 22 years.

I've fallen in and out of "fandom" a couple of times during that period, but I've kept very close contact with the business ever since the "Monday Night Wars" of the late 90s.

Those were the days. Two wrestling companies pulling out all of the stops to win the hearts of fans. Two wrestling companies testing the limits and creating the most memorable moments in the history of professional wrestling.

The nWo. The "Attitude" era. Gold.

It's funny, even back in those days, you wanted one company to "win". Now I know that that was the worst thing that could happen to the business.

I was always a WWF fan. Ever since I saw Hulk Hogan wail on Ted DiBiase with a steel chair at WrestleMania IV, that was me - I was a WWF fan, through and through. Sure, I loved watching WCW in the late 90s, too. Who can forget those late night pay-per-views on TV2 and those "international" versions of WCW Monday Nitro? It opened up a whole new experience as a fan, and it soon became obvious that both of these companies were doing whatever they could to make me stay loyal to them. They couldn't just put on a show and expect people to come - they had to work for it.

But I felt a certain loyalty to the (then) World Wrestling Federation. I hoped they'd eventually win the battle.

And of course, they did. In March 2001, after having to reinvent his company and give the fans exactly what (as it turned out) they wanted (famously labelling it "Attitude"), Vince McMahon purchased World Championship Wrestling from Time Warner. The battle was over.

It was an exciting time. Think of the possibilities! Would Vince bring back WCW? Would we have a title unification? Would we get to see match-ups that we never thought possible? Whatever would happen, the WWF was now the lone sheriff in town.

Let's fast forward to today. WWE is still on top of the professional wrestling heap - by a long shot. They've re-invented themselves a couple of times again - the latest iteration being a "kid friendly" product spread over three brands.

Arguably, those fans from the "Attitude era" are often disgruntled. And although they haven't been satisfied for several years, guess what? They tune in week in and week out as they always have. Vince McMahon knows they always will, and that's why he doesn't need to cater for them. Instead, he tries to tap into new demographics. That's smart business.

If you don't like the focus on "entertainment" instead of "wrestling"; if you don't like a John Cena-dominated upper card; if you don't like a dozen (or more? I've given up counting) titles - tough luck. You don't have a choice.

Total Nonstop Action has been in business for nearly 8 years. Started by Jeff Jarrett as that alternative, it has a loyal following, but has never come close to the popularity of WWE. But with TNA recently running up against Monday Night RAW in the United States and with the involvement of Hulk Hogan and friends, we could just be on the verge of a professional wrestling revolution.

God knows that TNA have the talent to match WWE. Those of you who have followed TNA know this. Those of you who have never watched TNA would be pleasantly surprised. From current World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles to Samoa Joe to Beer Money Inc. and the incredible athletes of the X-Division, the company has developed its own homegrown stars.

They've been meshed over the years with proven Superstars such as Kurt Angle, Christian (now of course back in WWE), Kevin Nash, Mick Foley and Sting. But TNA has still failed to make inroads.

Hogan's involvement with TNA has been controversial. Fans believe it'll be the beginning of the end. But I disagree.

I believe Hogan genuinely sees this as the biggest challenge of his legacy and one that he is desperate to see become a success. After all, it'll prove - in his mind - that he is what makes the wrestling business tick, not Vince McMahon. I also believe he wants to leave the business in tremendous shape by giving young athletes the opportunity to become real Superstars.

And yes, to do this, former stars need to be brought in.

I'm sorry XDivisionRulz84 of Te Awamutu, Jay Lethal, The Motor City Machineguns and Amazing Red, as incredible as they are, won't bring in the numbers to become the #1 wrestling company on the planet.

To do that, you need familiar faces. You need to appeal to the "mainstream wrestling fan" (spot the oxymoron) as well. You need to draw the viewers with names, then make them familiar with the new talent. Beyond that, you need to make them give a crap about the new talent, something that TNA hasn't been particularly good at so far.

Get them to invest emotionally, and they'll be back for more. If you give a crap about Consequences Creed, you'll tune in to watch him.

Then there is the thought that TNA will become WCW - the late, sinking ship WCW. I disagree. I think the lessons of where WCW went wrong have been well documented and well learned. The people behind TNA are more passionate about the business than you or I and are desperate not to repeat the mistakes of yesteryear.

But the potential of a more permanent move to Monday nights with live TNA programming is the really exciting part. As wrestling fans, we love conflict by definition. And there is no greater conflict than the Monday Night Wars.

There's an air of sameness with today's WWE programming. Don't get me wrong, I think the wrestling - for the most part - is phenomenal. But there just hasn't been an interesting storyline or situation that makes you *need* to tune in for a very, very long time. Kind of ironic for a company that focuses more on the entertainment than the wrestling.

I'm still a WWE boy. But I know I'm watching what Vince feels like putting on my screen, instead of what he needs to put on my screen to keep me.

If TNA move to Monday night, if they begin to make in-roads - you'll see a massive change in the WWE product for the better. It happened in 1997/98 and as wrestling fans, we should all hope it happens again.

It's already happened with the return of Bret "Hitman" Hart on the January 4 episode of Raw. Bret's return was always going to happen in 2010, but the timing of his return was no accident.

I had to agree with comments made by Vince Russo in a recent interview, though. Russo said he was watching iMPACT! and Raw in the production truck side-by-side, and other than the Bret segments, Russo claimed that Vince "didn't even try". It was otherwise a regular old show. You could argue that WWE doesn't need to up its game much, but I'm not so sure about that.

Even if you think TNA is a joke, as a wrestling fan, you need to back that company now more than ever. If TNA is a success, you will be the winner. If they fail, you'll remain that disgruntled fan for a long time yet.

Let's be honest, TNA won't come close to matching WWE's ratings for some time yet - if at all. But you have to admit, it's going to be very interesting to see how they progress over the coming months. Whether you're expecting to see an nWo style storyline, whether you're expecting TNA to become a true contender, or whether you think it's going to be a train wreck you can see from miles off, it's enough to capture your attention and get you interested in just what will happen next.

NZPWI has headed campaigns to get TNA programming on New Zealand screens in the past with no luck. We've launched a new campaign recently with all of the major networks and will do everything we can to get TNA iMPACT! on New Zealand screens. We'll keep you informed!

By the way, one of our readers has started a Facebook Group in an effort to try and stir support. Check it out here if you get a chance.

Speaking of the TNA iMPACT! show on January 4, check out Scott's review of the show. It's a must read!