First, the quick and dirty:

WWE Monday Night Raw did a 3.25 rating with a 5.45 share.
TNA Impact did a 0.9 rating with a 1.5 share.

F4WOnline is reporting that it was 3.4 for Raw and 1.0 for Impact.  I don't know why there's a fluctuation from the numbers we got but it's not a big one (and if you round Raw up to the next tenth of point then both shows vary by the same amount) so it's nothing to worry about.

Now, the detailed parts (and beware that Nielsen Media Research's math can be strange and that's why they don't come out exactly the same as averages reported for the shows) from the networks' prime time half hour grids:

- WWE's long-standing tradition is to report each hour of Raw as a separate show ("WWE Entertainment") while TNA reports all of Impact (including the overrun) as one show, so Raw's number as to be averaged from the official information.  Hour 1 did a 3.1 with a 4.6 share and hour 2 (including the overrun) did a 3.4 with a 6.0 share.

- Raw's half hours covering 9 PM to 11 PM EST (missing the overrun) were 3.0, 3.0, 3.2, and 3.2.

- Impacts half hours were 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, and 0.8.  So they grew little by little and then dropped back to where they started.  That's not a good sign.

As the new year opens the landscape of pro wrestling in the United States finds itself in a state of flux. A number of things are currently taking place that could potentially shape the future of the industry.

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There's a big story on ESPN.com today about Andrew Martin and concussions in wrestling.  The Sports Legacy Institute (which Christopher Nowinski is affiliated with) examined samples of Martin's brain and "excessive amounts" of tau proteins, which accumulate in the brains of those with head trauma.  Excellent article with comments from Dawn Marie and the Institute's doctors.

We here at Ring Psychology understand that it may have been some time since you’ve followed wrestling regularly. Perhaps you’re looking to jump back into it, but you’re concerned you won’t understand what’s going on. "Oh no," you may be thinking, "I don’t want to look like a fool in front of my wrestling friends if I can’t tell The Miz from The Morrison!" Don’t worry, we’re here to help! "The State of…" will provide key storyline info and identify the main players of all the major television shows…and ROH, too!

As it turns out, when I originally did The State of Wrestling for July covering the WWE and ROH shows, I thought I could move on to random indies like CHIKARA and PWG for kicks, because CHIKARA and PWG are great. Apparently I forgot all about TNA. When I say "forgot about" what I mean to say is "attempted to block it from my memory". Watching TNA is like running a triathlon: there's no real reward for finishing, and by the end you're wondering whether your legs will give out before you shit yourself. It's not fun, it's not entertaining, and it will usually just make you angry. Once I remembered that TNA existed, I considered just not writing about it out of spite. But if I want to truly call this series The State of Wrestling, well I suppose we have to take the atrocious with the bad.

TNA or "Total Nonstop Action" Wrestling (a bit of a misnomer, as the action quite often stops, and is far from total) is technically the second-largest professional wrestling company in the world, owned by an energy company, sponsored by an energy drink company, and featuring main eventers with no energy. It is written by Vince Russo, a man largely credited with creating the worst parts of wrestling from 1997 onwards, and for killing WCW.

Let's take a look at the major players and storylines of TNA!

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We here at Ring Psychology understand that it may have been some time since you’ve followed wrestling regularly. Perhaps you’re looking to jump back into it, but you’re concerned you won’t understand what’s going on. "Oh no," you may be thinking, "I don’t want to look like a fool in front of my wrestling friends if I can’t tell The Miz from The Morrison!" Don’t worry, we’re here to help! "The State of…" will provide key storyline info and identify the main players of all the major television shows…and ROH, too!

ECW is WWE's third-tier weekly show and its third "distinct" "brand". You may remember ECW as a scummy promotion where fat guys in T-shirts climb ladders up to where barbed wire is hanging from the ceiling for some reason. You may even remember the more recent Vince McMahon-owned ECW where Bobby Lashley took all of the steroids ever and then quit because Michael Hayes hates black people. In today's WWE, ECW is the show/promotion where they bring the rookies up from their developmental territory FCW, have them be in really great matches, and then when they're ready (or not) send them up to Smackdown or Raw, where Big Show will beat them all in one match. Since they're using ECW almost exclusively as a launching pad for new talent, it's insanely watchable, and the one-hour show usually features more minutes of wrestling than the weekly two-hour TNA Impact.

The General Manager of ECW is "Tiffany" who is basically the worst actor ever. Like if Mark Wahlberg's performance in "The Happening" was a blond in a pantsuit with fake boobs. It's never really been explained why she was qualified for a General Manager position of a professional wrestling company other than "banged Teddy Long" (implied).

Let’s take a look at the major players and storylines of ECW!

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