Why I Want to See TNA Close (And My History as a Fan)
May 27, 2015 23:25:14 GMT -5
Welfare Willis, Dragonfly, and 3 more like this
Post by Rick Mad on May 27, 2015 23:25:14 GMT -5
Gonna be a long post! But I think this needs backstory.
The first time I watched TNA, it was thanks to a one cent PPV offer they had going. I liked what I saw and wished I had the money to buy their weekly shows. Triple X seemed awesome, AMW seemed awesome, I hated Jeff Jarrett but I'm a mark (and former WCW diehard) and would pay to see him lose. Loved Raven.
Next show was their PPV that featured Ron Killings vs Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles vs mystery opponent, who turned out to be Jeff Hardy. Again, very much enjoyed the show - liked seeing some of the WCW guys that didn't go to WCW. Thought Jeff Hardy could be a game changer for them.
Once they started running monthly $30 PPVs I watched every month. They were putting out great wrestling every show. They felt like a cross between WCW and ECW to me - they didn't just have great wrestling like WCW, but they showcased it and made it important like ECW did. I felt like I was on the ground floor of the "next big thing" in pro wrestling, and that it was only a matter of time until they were firmly in number two.
Eventually they got their TV deal with Spike TV. They got the Dudleys, they got Christian, they got Kurt Angle - all great workers and guys that could push the company forward. I saw live events whenever they came around, and got to go to some PPVs. Got some of my friends that liked wrestling but didn't really know TNA to come with me. Lots of positivity towards the brand, Jeff Jarrett hate withstanding.
I don't know when exactly things shifted, but I'm fairly sure it was right around when Russo's return to the company. They didn't have a LOT of time without him but it was a golden age for them. Russo came back and although it was still the same TNA I'd grown to love, it had a dumb Russo-y twist. Could be worse, the wrestling was still on point, despite his dumb storylines.
Then came the Bischoff/Hogan era. I'm not writing this to hate on anyone in particular, be it those two or Russo or anybody - and I appreciate the risk Bischoff and Hogan took with taking Impact to Monday nights. January 4th, the first night of Impact vs Raw, remains one of my favorite nights in wrestling history. But the product went in a direction I wasn't interested in. Guys I didn't want to see, nonsensical booking... I wanted to support the company but my biggest memories of TNA that night include a clusterf*** cage match, an underwhelming Jeff Hardy return, and an nWo reunion.
We then entered TNA's darkest period IMO, the early days of pushing the new era talent and depushing some of the TNA originals. AJ Styles seemed to go from THE man to an upper midcard guy at best, Daniels and Joe became unimportant, Val Venis and Orlando Jordan were focuses of the show for a bit... They really didn't do anything to alter the perception that Hogan and Bischoff were coming in and doing whatever they wanted. And the Nasty Boys, and Man Cow, and etc., it just didn't feel like the company I'd wanted to see succeed anymore.
Hogan and Bischoff left, and I don't think TNA ever really recovered. Focus on the X Division, the ONE factor that made TNA something big to talk about and something that made me proud to be a fan, never returned. They let AJ Styles go, the single biggest star they'd ever created themselves. They let Christopher Daniels go, they let Kaz go, and finally they let Joe go. Somehow at times they managed to do things I fully support - pushing Aries, Roode, taking Bobby Lashley and making him a star - it just seemed like too much damage had been done to the brand and they'd lost too much of their identity. The Destination America debut with significantly lesser looking production values was the nail in the coffin for my enthusiasm - this wasn't the company on the rise I'd spent years supporting, but a company in decline.
I'm a fan of a lot of other promotions now - promotions worth being excited about. Promotions that don't have so much negativity surrounding them. I've been a TNA fan for a long, long time, but I'm a fan of the wrestlers at this point, not the company itself. I want them to die so someone can take their place, so the company in number two, whoever it is, can move past the stench of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff and all the negative feelings that come with them. TNA had their opportunity and they squandered it - I want to see what ROH or GFW or some as-of-yet-uncreated company can do.
TNA, I'm sorry. I love you.
The first time I watched TNA, it was thanks to a one cent PPV offer they had going. I liked what I saw and wished I had the money to buy their weekly shows. Triple X seemed awesome, AMW seemed awesome, I hated Jeff Jarrett but I'm a mark (and former WCW diehard) and would pay to see him lose. Loved Raven.
Next show was their PPV that featured Ron Killings vs Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles vs mystery opponent, who turned out to be Jeff Hardy. Again, very much enjoyed the show - liked seeing some of the WCW guys that didn't go to WCW. Thought Jeff Hardy could be a game changer for them.
Once they started running monthly $30 PPVs I watched every month. They were putting out great wrestling every show. They felt like a cross between WCW and ECW to me - they didn't just have great wrestling like WCW, but they showcased it and made it important like ECW did. I felt like I was on the ground floor of the "next big thing" in pro wrestling, and that it was only a matter of time until they were firmly in number two.
Eventually they got their TV deal with Spike TV. They got the Dudleys, they got Christian, they got Kurt Angle - all great workers and guys that could push the company forward. I saw live events whenever they came around, and got to go to some PPVs. Got some of my friends that liked wrestling but didn't really know TNA to come with me. Lots of positivity towards the brand, Jeff Jarrett hate withstanding.
I don't know when exactly things shifted, but I'm fairly sure it was right around when Russo's return to the company. They didn't have a LOT of time without him but it was a golden age for them. Russo came back and although it was still the same TNA I'd grown to love, it had a dumb Russo-y twist. Could be worse, the wrestling was still on point, despite his dumb storylines.
Then came the Bischoff/Hogan era. I'm not writing this to hate on anyone in particular, be it those two or Russo or anybody - and I appreciate the risk Bischoff and Hogan took with taking Impact to Monday nights. January 4th, the first night of Impact vs Raw, remains one of my favorite nights in wrestling history. But the product went in a direction I wasn't interested in. Guys I didn't want to see, nonsensical booking... I wanted to support the company but my biggest memories of TNA that night include a clusterf*** cage match, an underwhelming Jeff Hardy return, and an nWo reunion.
We then entered TNA's darkest period IMO, the early days of pushing the new era talent and depushing some of the TNA originals. AJ Styles seemed to go from THE man to an upper midcard guy at best, Daniels and Joe became unimportant, Val Venis and Orlando Jordan were focuses of the show for a bit... They really didn't do anything to alter the perception that Hogan and Bischoff were coming in and doing whatever they wanted. And the Nasty Boys, and Man Cow, and etc., it just didn't feel like the company I'd wanted to see succeed anymore.
Hogan and Bischoff left, and I don't think TNA ever really recovered. Focus on the X Division, the ONE factor that made TNA something big to talk about and something that made me proud to be a fan, never returned. They let AJ Styles go, the single biggest star they'd ever created themselves. They let Christopher Daniels go, they let Kaz go, and finally they let Joe go. Somehow at times they managed to do things I fully support - pushing Aries, Roode, taking Bobby Lashley and making him a star - it just seemed like too much damage had been done to the brand and they'd lost too much of their identity. The Destination America debut with significantly lesser looking production values was the nail in the coffin for my enthusiasm - this wasn't the company on the rise I'd spent years supporting, but a company in decline.
I'm a fan of a lot of other promotions now - promotions worth being excited about. Promotions that don't have so much negativity surrounding them. I've been a TNA fan for a long, long time, but I'm a fan of the wrestlers at this point, not the company itself. I want them to die so someone can take their place, so the company in number two, whoever it is, can move past the stench of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff and all the negative feelings that come with them. TNA had their opportunity and they squandered it - I want to see what ROH or GFW or some as-of-yet-uncreated company can do.
TNA, I'm sorry. I love you.
