Genesis 2010- TNA begins their trainwreck year with a PPV that only had one bright spot....the debut of Mr. Anderson. What makes THIS PPV bad right out of the gate? It's the first PPV WITHOUT the 6 Sided Ring, thus ending the era of the standout product in terms of visual presentation. Couple THAT with the ring bridge and you've got a hot wet mess that cuts down the useable outside-ring space and makes working around it a complication at best.
Victory Road 2011- We all know the story.....Jeff Hardy comes out and loses his World Heavyweight Championship after a 90 second match in one of the WORST PPV events in their history, putting a benchmark in the history books that rivals December to Dismember of 2006, which ended with fans chanting "We Want a Refund".
TNA lost HUGE credibility with their signing of Garet Bischoff and Brooke Hogan in 2010 and 2012 respectively and, with the release of Brooke this year and Garet's absence from television since the disbanding of the Aces and Eights, it might be possible HE would be done as well. What's important to note is that the political weight-throwing of Hogan and Bischoff in their tenures led to TNA taking on what might be considered even more dead weight. Now, before I go further, I will say I have praised the regime in the past for their virtues, and there were some, but this was not a shining pair of moments.
TNA allows Christopher Daniels' contract to lapse without renewal in 2010. Why do I keep bringing up things done during the era of the regime? Because it HAS to be made into a point. During this era, a BUNCH of TNA Original talents were allowed to see their own way to the door, but in spite of all that, TNA simply didn't see a dip in their viewership, by and large.
In the era before Jeff Hardy's return to TNA from 2006-2009, TNA's ratings never changed. When Kurt Angle was missing from action this year and in the time before his arrival in the first place, ratings didn't jump or tank. Before Christian Cage or Sting, ratings weren't suffering. TNA has survived a virtually nonstop championship reign by Jeff Jarrett during the first year of their televised syndicated show on SpikeTV, PPV disasters, walkouts, no shows, and just about everything else that can go wrong on a wrestling promotion standpoint and yet, their viewership remains largely intact. Somebody EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!!!!
If TNA is the disaster that some critics claim, why is it still around? Right now, Smackdown and TNA aren't far off in terms of their respective ratings....so what's all the talk about TNA going down the tubes? Because they haven't come to terms with AJ Styles? Because they haven't resigned Jeff Hardy? Because Sting might be leaving? I am a VERY big fan of all three, but at the end of the day, TNA will manage to survive.
Will there be something lacking in the product? Undoubtedly.
Will it keep me from tuning in each week? Nope.
Written by Jerry Garcia of Tag-Teams, Knockouts & Wrestling
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