It's Damn Real!
The undisputed, undefeated TNA &
So much of the focus around this company is centered around the mistakes they've made, the mistakes they continue to make, the reports of their inability to pay various employees on time, their "inability" to make their own stars, their television contract, etc. It's a cavalcade of negative, plenty of which has legs to stand on, and plenty of which is rightful criticism. But lost in the years of negative press is actually a lot of good. Especially today.
Last night's IMPACT was, I thought, one of the better episodes of 2016 thus far (sans the Hardy/Sweeney Todd bad daytime soap opera nonsense), and one of the better episodes in the POP era in general. The character development and story-telling going on in a lot of the feuds is just good wrestling television, and it also featured the debut/introduction of three new characters, all of whom show tremendous potential. Among them are The Tribunal (formerly the Legionairres in NXT), composed of Baron Dax and Basile Baraka (fantastic ring names, might I add). Baraka alone looks like a future super star and someone who can probably be the top heel in the promotion with enough work put in to establish him (think EC3). Dax is more muscle, but who knows maybe there's more to unearth there going forward? They also introduced a budding baby face in Braxton Sutter (formerly Pepper Parks), the real-life boyfriend of Allie (Cherry Bomb), who herself is a great addition to the Knockouts, and a really fresh, fun new face to see in a division that had been orbiting around the same group of around eight girls for the last four-to-six years. I liked Parks for a while now, but his little 90-second sit-down intro really sold this new character for me. You can check it out below:
[YOUTUBE]2Z_T5tbYu2g[/YOUTUBE]
But beyond these new-comers, there's the Decay a tag team stable that I doubt anyone could have predicted this level of success for. With a completely re-invented Abyss who is actually, shockingly, must-see TV again for the first time in years. Crazy Steve just went from annoying clown-horn-honking jobber to interesting character, essentially overnight. Rosemary is the least interesting of all three, but gives them a female component that lends to their heel nature with her running interference and still doing the talking for the group when Abyss isn't.
There's Eli Drake who is almost single-handedly reinventing and making the mid-card matter again. Arguably the best talker in the company. Another future top heel.
Maria and Mike Bennett are doing their thing. Maria has the Knockouts interesting again without even having wrestled a single match yet. She's talked her way to the top and has Gail Kim chasing her in Kim's most interesting feud since Taryn Terrell (the first match). Bennett is doing wonderful work with EC3, simultaneously getting himself over and keeping EC3's face status (which always feels tenuous) in tact. They even managed to pull off some great wrestling comedy last night with EC3 "running" the show and having Bennett forced to clean toilets (much better this time around than the last time when Bischoff and Hogan had Jarrett doing it).
Zema Ion seems to be getting another push. Eddie Edwards also seems to be getting a spotlight in the X Division while Davey Richards heals up. Oh, and the Helms Dynasty (silly name) is showcasing two wonderful future X Division stars in Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee. Maybe the X Division can be revived after all?
Beyond this there's a pretty funny Bro Mans reunion going on through new-comer Raquel (though I can understand if that's not your cup of tea they're hit or miss), Bobby Lashley is doing his thing as a dominant, cocky, physical heel, and while they're floating in a non Hardy-related island right now, even Spud and Tyrus aren't a total waste of your time. They're something of an odd couple tag team at the moment.
I get that the brand is really damaged and that the reputation is entirely untrustworthy. I really do. Because I'm someone who feels the exact same way about WWE for similar reasons. Even when my closest friends are explaining these wonderful feuds and new faces, talking up the rise of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens, I'm still skeptical, arms crossed with a sour puss face waiting for the Miz to come out and ruin it all (and he has uncanny timing in doing exactly this seemingly every time I turn WWE programming on). But through it all, I really do think, objectively speaking, there's a lot right here that isn't being given the opportunity to impress because all the wrong done in the past is completely clouding the water and preventing a lot of people from even entertaining the idea of watching TNA again. And they have no one to blame for that but themselves. This is a situation of the boy who cried wolf. The bridges have been burned beyond repair and few seem willing to give it another chance. I can't blame them for feeling that way, even if I feel like the product they're producing right now is worth their time.
I can't sit here and tell you you should watch. I'm a hypocrite, because I'm using the same excuse for not watching WWE despite so many reasons to. But I will say that maybe maybe you might just want to entertain the idea. At the very least, even if this is lost on everyone for reasons I would completely understand, it's promising to see given the nature of TNA's existence right now. While it could all be too little too late, it's nice to see this roster refresh and the focus being put back on the things that really helped establish TNA's identity all those years ago. Given the right amount of time, I honestly feel there's a resurgence to be had here.
Last night's IMPACT was, I thought, one of the better episodes of 2016 thus far (sans the Hardy/Sweeney Todd bad daytime soap opera nonsense), and one of the better episodes in the POP era in general. The character development and story-telling going on in a lot of the feuds is just good wrestling television, and it also featured the debut/introduction of three new characters, all of whom show tremendous potential. Among them are The Tribunal (formerly the Legionairres in NXT), composed of Baron Dax and Basile Baraka (fantastic ring names, might I add). Baraka alone looks like a future super star and someone who can probably be the top heel in the promotion with enough work put in to establish him (think EC3). Dax is more muscle, but who knows maybe there's more to unearth there going forward? They also introduced a budding baby face in Braxton Sutter (formerly Pepper Parks), the real-life boyfriend of Allie (Cherry Bomb), who herself is a great addition to the Knockouts, and a really fresh, fun new face to see in a division that had been orbiting around the same group of around eight girls for the last four-to-six years. I liked Parks for a while now, but his little 90-second sit-down intro really sold this new character for me. You can check it out below:
[YOUTUBE]2Z_T5tbYu2g[/YOUTUBE]
But beyond these new-comers, there's the Decay a tag team stable that I doubt anyone could have predicted this level of success for. With a completely re-invented Abyss who is actually, shockingly, must-see TV again for the first time in years. Crazy Steve just went from annoying clown-horn-honking jobber to interesting character, essentially overnight. Rosemary is the least interesting of all three, but gives them a female component that lends to their heel nature with her running interference and still doing the talking for the group when Abyss isn't.
There's Eli Drake who is almost single-handedly reinventing and making the mid-card matter again. Arguably the best talker in the company. Another future top heel.
Maria and Mike Bennett are doing their thing. Maria has the Knockouts interesting again without even having wrestled a single match yet. She's talked her way to the top and has Gail Kim chasing her in Kim's most interesting feud since Taryn Terrell (the first match). Bennett is doing wonderful work with EC3, simultaneously getting himself over and keeping EC3's face status (which always feels tenuous) in tact. They even managed to pull off some great wrestling comedy last night with EC3 "running" the show and having Bennett forced to clean toilets (much better this time around than the last time when Bischoff and Hogan had Jarrett doing it).
Zema Ion seems to be getting another push. Eddie Edwards also seems to be getting a spotlight in the X Division while Davey Richards heals up. Oh, and the Helms Dynasty (silly name) is showcasing two wonderful future X Division stars in Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee. Maybe the X Division can be revived after all?
Beyond this there's a pretty funny Bro Mans reunion going on through new-comer Raquel (though I can understand if that's not your cup of tea they're hit or miss), Bobby Lashley is doing his thing as a dominant, cocky, physical heel, and while they're floating in a non Hardy-related island right now, even Spud and Tyrus aren't a total waste of your time. They're something of an odd couple tag team at the moment.
I get that the brand is really damaged and that the reputation is entirely untrustworthy. I really do. Because I'm someone who feels the exact same way about WWE for similar reasons. Even when my closest friends are explaining these wonderful feuds and new faces, talking up the rise of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens, I'm still skeptical, arms crossed with a sour puss face waiting for the Miz to come out and ruin it all (and he has uncanny timing in doing exactly this seemingly every time I turn WWE programming on). But through it all, I really do think, objectively speaking, there's a lot right here that isn't being given the opportunity to impress because all the wrong done in the past is completely clouding the water and preventing a lot of people from even entertaining the idea of watching TNA again. And they have no one to blame for that but themselves. This is a situation of the boy who cried wolf. The bridges have been burned beyond repair and few seem willing to give it another chance. I can't blame them for feeling that way, even if I feel like the product they're producing right now is worth their time.
I can't sit here and tell you you should watch. I'm a hypocrite, because I'm using the same excuse for not watching WWE despite so many reasons to. But I will say that maybe maybe you might just want to entertain the idea. At the very least, even if this is lost on everyone for reasons I would completely understand, it's promising to see given the nature of TNA's existence right now. While it could all be too little too late, it's nice to see this roster refresh and the focus being put back on the things that really helped establish TNA's identity all those years ago. Given the right amount of time, I honestly feel there's a resurgence to be had here.
