The Positive TNA Thread

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Recently it was suggested that the people who want to see positive discussion about TNA should encourage positive discussion about TNA so I decided to make this thread. Post things that Impact Wrestling has done in the past 12 years that have enjoyed, what's made you mark out or smile, what did you think was good television? This thread is about the good things that TNA have done, if you dislike TNA or think they haven't done anything good or entertaining that's fair enough but that discussion is for another thread.

I'll start things off:

1) I loved X Division Champion Sonny Siaki, I thought he was great and played the heel egotist role perfectly.

2) I really enjoyed the Horror Era of TNA, though I will say the whole Rellik thing was what kind of killed it.

3) Open Fight Night and the Bound For Glory Series are great, I hope with the end of Gut Check they don't end OFN as well.

4) I think the long arcing story lines are great and I have enjoyed Aces and Eights for the most part, TNA just has to learn when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em but I think they've got the potential to create even better storylines once they get that skill down.

5) TNA still have the best wrestling and wrestlers on national television in my opinion, they're talent pool is awesome and the in ring action week in and week out always thoroughly entertains me.

[Emmet Russell]

1. I feel Mickie James has been doing her best work recently. Her character is tremendous and her work as a in-ring performer has been very solid as well. She's easily the current highlight of Impact for me

2. I've enjoyed the champions they have made in the last few years - finally breaking the mold that they only put the title on older guys. New champions over the past few years being James Storm, Bobby Roode, Bully Ray; although he's not young, and Chris Sabin.

3. The Ric Flair and Jay Lethal feud delivered both in-ring and during promos. Flairs best work in the company and something he should be praised for (until he had a street fight in his underwear and BEAT Lethal, but I digress)

4. Mick Foleys championship reign. I for one really enjoyed it and he only took it off Sting instead of a young up-and-comer so no harm was done. Foley was incredibly entertaining during his time with the title.

5. Desmond Wolfe's two matches with Kurt Angle where he looked like a true star.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Aug 14, 2013 5:00:19 GMT -5 Emmet Russell said:

1. I feel Mickie James has been doing her best work recently. Her character is tremendous and her work as a in-ring performer has been very solid as well. She's easily the current highlight of Impact for me

2. I've enjoyed the champions they have made in the last few years - finally breaking the mold that they only put the title on older guys. New champions over the past few years being James Storm, Bobby Roode, Bully Ray; although he's not young, and Chris Sabin.

3. The Ric Flair and Jay Lethal feud delivered both in-ring and during promos. Flairs best work in the company and something he should be praised for (until he had a street fight in his underwear and BEAT Lethal, but I digress)

4. Mick Foleys championship reign. I for one really enjoyed it and he only took it off Sting instead of a young up-and-comer so no harm was done. Foley was incredibly entertaining during his time with the title.

5. Desmond Wolfe's two matches with Kurt Angle where he looked like a true star.

Yeah I completely agree with all of these, especially on Foley's championship reign. I wasn't a huge fan of it at the time however as time has gone on I appreciate it more and kinda wish he had went on to do even more with it. It was fresh and as you say he took it from Sting, I just wish there was another way to go with it rather than dropping it to Angle however that's really neither here nor there.

[Emmet Russell]

Aug 14, 2013 5:07:08 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

Aug 14, 2013 5:00:19 GMT -5 Emmet Russell said:

1. I feel Mickie James has been doing her best work recently. Her character is tremendous and her work as a in-ring performer has been very solid as well. She's easily the current highlight of Impact for me

2. I've enjoyed the champions they have made in the last few years - finally breaking the mold that they only put the title on older guys. New champions over the past few years being James Storm, Bobby Roode, Bully Ray; although he's not young, and Chris Sabin.

3. The Ric Flair and Jay Lethal feud delivered both in-ring and during promos. Flairs best work in the company and something he should be praised for (until he had a street fight in his underwear and BEAT Lethal, but I digress)

4. Mick Foleys championship reign. I for one really enjoyed it and he only took it off Sting instead of a young up-and-comer so no harm was done. Foley was incredibly entertaining during his time with the title.

5. Desmond Wolfe's two matches with Kurt Angle where he looked like a true star.

Yeah I completely agree with all of these, especially on Foley's championship reign. I wasn't a huge fan of it at the time however as time has gone on I appreciate it more and kinda wish he had went on to do even more with it. It was fresh and as you say he took it from Sting, I just wish there was another way to go with it rather than dropping it to Angle however that's really neither here nor there.

It's like me and JBL's title reign. I absolutely hated it at the time but looking back it was full of solid matches and was highly entertaining. At that time though, him taking the title from one of my favourites - Eddie - and him being plain old Bradshaw only a few months prior, made me genuinely hate it.

[SOR]

Oh man TNA has done so much that I've liked but I'll go with what I've liked in the last 3 and a half years since people focus on that being a down period of TNA

1) I love what they've done with Hulk. They haven't focused on him being an in ring competitor and have never really tried to push that. He's had a few matches but generally they've used him exactly the way he should be. A legendary authority figure

2. I like that once someone reaches main event status in TNA they never really seem to drop that far back down the card. For example if you look at WWE they have Jack Swagger who won the World Title, he lost it and then dropped down into the Midcard. This hasn't happened for any former TNA Champions except the lazy RVD

3. The rise of guys like Sabin, Roode, Aries, AJ, Daniels, Joe etc has made for amazing TV and some great moments and matches and made stars out of guys who may not have had the opportunity in WWE

4. Dixie seems to legitimately care about the fans and anyone who supports TNA. She's great to be on top of TNA

5. I'm excited for TNA's current European expansion and future expansion

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

The last quarter of 2009 TNA is probably one of the best stretches of TV and PPV I've seen any company put out. Seriously, those last two PPVs of that year were just amazing, and the Daniels vs. Desmond Wolfe heel vs. heel match they ran on Impact is a lost classic of free TV.

Last year's stretch during the Summer arguably rivaled late Winter 2009 with the Bound for Glory Series format improving while converging with the Austin Aries vs. Booby Roode and the X-Division resurgence for some good TV and PPVs. Even some enjoyment was unintentionally found with Claire Lynch.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Gonna come in and agree that anything Desmond did in his incoming push was awesome and deserves some props.

I also want to add that I really enjoyed Jeff Hardy's heel run and wish it wasn't tarred by his demons, I think the "Anti-Christ of Professional Wrestling" shtick was great and I would welcome a lot more of it if he ever decided to turn heel again in the future.

"Cold Blooded" Matt Hardy was a great character and I really enjoyed what he was trying to do with his ring style at the time however I don't think Matt was in the right place at that time to make it work, I think had he been healthy and happy it would have been much more enjoyable and I think he would have had some great mileage in TNA.

[Emmet Russell]

Aug 14, 2013 6:13:18 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

Gonna come in and agree that anything Desmond did in his incoming push was awesome and deserves some props.

I also want to add that I really enjoyed Jeff Hardy's heel run and wish it wasn't tarred by his demons, I think the "Anti-Christ of Professional Wrestling" shtick was great and I would welcome a lot more of it if he ever decided to turn heel again in the future.

"Cold Blooded" Matt Hardy was a great character and I really enjoyed what he was trying to do with his ring style at the time however I don't think Matt was in the right place at that time to make it work, I think had he been healthy and happy it would have been much more enjoyable and I think he would have had some great mileage in TNA.

I think Jeff's heel turn was ruined due to his opponents during that time - mainly being Matt Morgan. Boring & uninspired matches ruined his momentum for me & his match with Sting has gone down in TNA History as one of the worst moments in the company. It's a shame because Hardy had a lot of potential as a egotistical, dark poet.

[Bram wants to 'urt you]

It's been mentioned already, but Open Fight Night is such a fantastic idea. It gives the company the chance to throw together seemingly random matches, as a way to test the water for future feuds and rivalries.

Also, kudos to them for Option C. The shock of A double trading in his X title for a shot at the World Title was only supplanted by his actually WINNING the top belt. They need to be careful in the future though, as putting the titles on Aries (fantastic move) and Sabin (potentially good move, pending) may have seemed to set a precedent - they shouldn't have every single X title holder elevated to WHC status - if it's the right thing to do that's fine, but they also need to try a) the surprise that comes from the X Champ trading in and walking away with nothing and b) the X title holder DECLINING the option, saying they wish to remain X Champ and become "the best/longest reigning X Champ in company history" in order to really make the title special again.

[HMARK Center]

Well, there are a few of reasons I watch TNA regularly despite not watching WWE, but the main ones are probably:

-Internal plot consistency: One of TNA's early problems was having that "WCW-ish" tendency to just kind of let things happen "just because", but since the current writing team was put in place awhile back, there seems to be a big emphasis on stories having a beginning and end in mind, with developments that make sense for moving the narrative along.

That's not to say things are flawless, of course - as mentioned before, TNA has an issue with not always having everything sketched in before the ending, ala the way they clearly want the Aces and Eights reckoning to be at BFG, but haven't really filled in the blanks since Lockdown strongly enough. However, looking back on it, things like the Bully Ray reveal as the President were just executed right. Did we all figure it would likely happen when it did? Sure. But the consistency that lead to the moment made it worthwhile, and boosted Bully's credibility as a dangerous heel.

Same could be said of AJ's character arc up to this point: he's changed, we've seen the arc that's lead to his change, but even now they're planting the seeds of his redemption (him getting pushed hard by Hardy the other week and having to pull out the "classic AJ" moveset). It ties into my next point:

-There are consequences: AJ Styles was basically humiliated in 2012, slipping up against longtime foe Chris Daniels, dealing with the Lynch storyline, the Dixie Carter affair accusations, all culminating in AJ not being allowed a title shot before this October.

I can't shake the feeling that a WWE babyface would let this "roll off his shoulders" and just move on, but it was nice to see a face actually respond to all the bad stuff happening and having a change in mentality and in-ring style.

-They picked a focus for the show, and have stuck with it: I think we can all agree that it'd be great to see the tag, X, and KO divisions rehabilitated soon. However, we also all have to accept that TNA doesn't get a lot of programming time each week, and that combined with the recent streamlining of the roster means that they need to pick the major focuses for the show and make it clear what's most important.

In the case of TNA, they've chosen the World Title for that. Yes, I miss the days of "The X Division belt can be equal to the World Title!", but I just don't think it's realistic to do anymore, plus it'd make it weird when the younger, more dynamic guys WOULD challenge for the World Title...what makes it so special if there's another belt that's of equal prestige? Given that they get around 80 minutes of TV time a week, they've chosen to make the World Title the show's chief focus and prize, and it simplifies things a bit.

I'd LOVE for them to get another show, even just an hour-long showcase show, for the other divisions to have room to breathe, but I think this is largely a necessary evil at this point.

-The sneaking around backstage camera: I can't tell you how much I hate when WWE has people standing in position for a backstage skit; I'm not lying, it basically ruins the entire show for me. So TNA at least taking the step to say "Hey, the wrestlers don't know we're here, we'll catch them saying something sketchy!" is infinitely better than two people already angled toward the camera and sounding overly-scripted for a "spur of the moment" backstage confrontation.

Speaking of which:

-Last one, promise: Guys getting a chance to act more like themselves or come up with their own gimmicks sometimes: People have complained for years that WWE overly-scripts their shows/promos/etc., and while I'm sure TNA overly scripts some things, too, I have a feeling we wouldn't really see gimmicks like Bad Influence, Joseph Park, or even Eric Young really take off in WWE. They really have the performers' individual finger prints all over them, and it can be a great thing to see. Gimmicks, promos, mannerisms, it at least feels like TNA gives their guys some extra freedom.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

-TNA has gotten a LOT better over the past year or so when it comes to plot consistency, as others have mentioned.

- Destination X 2012...hell of a show, huh?

- TNA in November and December of 2009 was freaking fantastic. They were pretty damn good in the Summer of 2012 as well.

-Not sure what caused it but a fire has really been lit in Samoa Joe over the past year and a half. He's really stepped up his game after seemingly phoning it in from 2010-2011. I would imagine being booked like he's relevant again has helped.

- In 2008-2009, TNA had, arguably, the strongest women's division that any major American wrestling company has ever had.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

I agree with pretty much everything HMARK said.

All I've really got to add is that for all the shit TNA have received over the years for being a joke of a company there have been times where they have been easily the most entertaining company in North America.

For example:

- The period starting from the Sacrifice PPV in 2012 (the build wasn't brilliant but the PPV was excellent) all the way up to Hardcore Justice 2012 (after this it started to go downhill) they were the best wrestling company that I was watching at the time.

- The period starting from No Surrender in 2009 all the way up to the start of 2010 when things started to go downhill - they were the best wrestling company I was watching at that time.

- In 2005 and 2006 they and Ring of Honor were on fire. I'm inclined to give ROH the edge in terms of who was better but both were vastly superior to the product WWE was putting out at the time.

At the minute they're struggling a little. I'm hoping that once we get towards Bound For Glory things can pick up because ROH (in the last year or so) and WWE (in the last 2-3 months) have both upped their games tremendously. Hopefully TNA can follow suit and get back on track. The product is far from bad, there's still more good than bad most weeks, but they're still my number three company at the minute. Which is a shame because they were my favourite from roughly BFG '11 up until the start of this year when ROH overtook them, and recently WWE has overtaken both.

[siredger]

Well, let' see for me:

-Obviously, Option C. The fact that it was able to bring Austin Aries to the main event level status and that he was able to carry the ball for a good stretch of time proved that when done right, TNA or any other promotion can showcase smaller workers in big slots on the card.

-Bobby Roode's reign as World Heavyweight Champion. What started as disaster when they had him lose to Kurt Angle at BFG 11 to then turn against his best friend James Storm to capture the title redeemed his spot. I'm so glad that we're getting to see the old Roode in the last couple of weeks.

-The rise of Bully Ray. As it was mentioned, it was a matter of time before he would turn heel but the way they unveiled him as the President of Aces & Eights was masterfully executed. As for the group itself, I actually have nothing against them as I like them all, except for Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco but that's another story.

-Bad Influence. 'Nuff said.

-And how could I forget that awesome Best of 5 series between MCMG and Beer Money a few years back. Man, did that raise Shelley & Sabin's stock as tag team or what?

[Deleted]

1. The Roode title reign/feud with Aries for the belt.

2. Bad Influence.

3. Robbie E and Robbie T (and Cookie, by proxy to the former).

3. Maybe this is going back a bit but...anything Scott Steiner did with the company, ever.

4. The British Invasion, especially Magnus.

5. James Storm winning the TNA title.

6. And I wasn't watching much at the time, but the 2009 to 2010 KO division was flat-out amazing in retrospect.

[________ has left the building]

-Bad Influence. What was birthed during Wrestlecrap became the greatest thing to happen in TNA in years.
-Austin Aries's return back to TNA
-The Holy Trinity of the X Division: Joe, AJ, and Daniels
-Beer Money vs MCMGs feud
-Bully Ray before the Hogan Family Drama and Aces and Eight
-Don West especially after his heel turn
-LAX
-MMA Double J
-Fortune
-Venom Matt Morgan
-The PCS
-Monty Brown
-Curry Man
-Black Machismo
-Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim
-Hamada, Sarita, Roxxi, Alissa Flash, Taylor Wilde
-Amazing Red
-Abyss with James Mitchell
-Team Canada
-London Brawling
-"The Finest Thing in Life" Douglas Williams
-Ms Tessmacher and her booty

[________ has left the building]

Also Scott Steiner's whole TNA run.

[Deleted]

I agree with everything HMark mentioned above. To add to that, I think TNA has the "wrestling formula" down pretty well. Build week to week, let storylines progress slowly and logically, and make world title chances difficult to get.

One other thing I will mention is TNA is not afraid to have babyfaces tap out. One of the things the WWE has created is the notion that tapping out is a wussy thing to do, so only heels do it. That's idiotic, especially when in real fights guys like Brock Lesnar can tap out within a few minutes. I thought Jeff Hardy tapping out to Styles a few weeks ago was great. It didn't make Hardy look bad, it made Styles look good, and other than a "you tapped out" chant right when it happened, it was essentially forgotten about the next time Hardy was on camera since he had to move on and face Samoa Joe in his next BFG Series match. That's the way it should be. Emphasize AJ's submission move more than the fact that Hardy (and Storm prior to that) had tapped out to it. The tapping out part should just be played up as "living to fight another day", and TNA does that extremely well.

The "everything has consequences" part of TNA is another thing I enjoy about it. AJ's character change was a result of months worth of events. Storm lost the biggest match of his life in his hometown and had to leave to recharge his batteries. Bully Ray lost the BFG Series and knew he couldn't get a title shot for a while so he had to do the whole Hulk/Brooke manipulation. TNA builds stories and lets them progress. They don't hit a home run every time (see Morgan's aborted feud with Hogan, and Doc's departure right when his character was branching out, etc), but they are doing well most of the time.

[The Spelunker!]

Stuff I love in current TNA:

The rotating cast of X-division stars. I really enjoy the idea of borrowing talent from elsewhere, give them a couple matches on TV, and give TNA some new faces to try out.

TNA's massive and diverse main event picture. When you can legitimately have AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Bully Ray, Daniels, Kazarian, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, James Storm, Abyss, Magnus, Mr. Anderson, and Chris Sabin as your possible main event matchups, you know you've done something right.

Open Fight Night and Gut Check. These are both great ideas. The execution hasn't been perfect, but the ideas are quite sound.

Going on the road. The shows simply feel larger now that they're out of the Impact Zone.

The Knockouts division. Sure it's definitely not at it's strongest, but they're allowed to go out there and have serious stories and matches.

I think the biggest thing that draws me to TNA right now though is continuity. Almost every character has an actual story arc. TNA doesn't stick every character in awkward holding patterns for years. Characters grow and change. There are consequences to their actions.

[Deleted]

My favorite things in TNA:

- The way they regularly bring in guest wrestlers to shake up the shows

- Wins and losses actually matter and storylines have consequences.

[Young Game]

TNA put Jushin Thunder Liger on a major PPV.

GOOD JOB TNA!