Perhaps designed to send a message that it does not see TNA as real competition, USA Network’s WWE RAW went off the air several minutes prior to the conclusion of TNA iMPACT!
By going off early, WWE allowed wrestling fans to switchover in time to see the conclusion of the Hulk Hogan & Abyss vs. Ric Flair & AJ Styles tag match and the subsequent run-in by former WWE World Champion Jeff Hardy.
While even an extremely significant viewership increase for those final few moments of iMPACT! will not be enough to drastically alter the average rating for the show’s two hours, TNA still nonetheless benefited from an opportunity to expose WWE fans to a few minutes of a segment featuring some of wrestling’s most well-known names.