I actually wanted to put this together last night, but was too tired to get to it, so I'll just piggyback Jack-Hammer (or steal from, I guess forgive me J-H).
Accounting for the entirety of the year, January to December of 2013, what letter grade would you give the product?
Some of the highlights (or low lights, depending on which side of the coin you fall on) of the year include the reveal of Bully Ray as the leader of Aces & Eights, as well as their subsequent death and funeral, AJ Styles' first TNA WHC victory since 2009, the departure of the Hogan's, Magnus' first WHC victory, the return of Abyss, the return of Madison Rayne and much, much more.
Whatever your grade, remember that this is a NO SPAM section and thread. A-plus or F-minus, you need to back up your opinions, should you choose to share them here. Substance and reason are both required should you choose to respond to this thread.
Wrestling wise there wasn't to much to complain about (heck legitimately you can't really complain about it) But storyline wise they were so hit and miss. Aces & Eights dragged on to much and Hogan was on tv to much as well. Sabin's world title run was shit and it could've been better. There was a lot of wrestlers that they could have utilised better such Roode and Aries with their tag team, Hardy when he came back from after Lockdown etc. Also why the fuck they brought in Lei'D Tapa over Valessez (sp) is still beyond me.
But aside from that I was entertained. I'd sit through the entire show which is more than I can say for Raw
For me it's probably a B-Minus. Bad as Aces & Eights was (no need to go into details over it — we've covered it enough by now), the way they handled their dismantling was great, the Styles victory at BFG, even the Bully Ray reveal as the Aces Prez was all top notch stuff. I'd love to rate the product higher, but there were negatives, some major, that prevent me from doing so if I'm being objective. Brooke Hogan in general, was a disaster that spun on for far too long before they finally took the legs out from under it and released here. And anything with Awful Kong (Lei'D Tapa) is a total channel-changer for me. I said in the last LD that it's actually amazing that someone, somewhere, actually went to bat for her and probably muttered words close to "yeah, we should bring her in and put her on television".
I'll eschew the grading scale and just give TNA both a Crocodile Ink Stamp and a Participation Trophy. Since the only people involved with TNA are a woman who had everything handed to her (Dixie Carter) and ******s (everyone else), I think my alternative reward system is more than fitting.
barely watchable but certainly some shining moments that save it from being totally awfull.
no really stand out moments as far as i remember when this happened type moments, Bully Ray was clearly the shining start for most of the year, Kurt Angle vs Bobby Roode fued has been solid tho it's kinda one sided,
everything else mediocre at best. Hardly Nonstop action, or where wrestling matters no more focused on decent wrestling then WWE has been.
Grading for the management - F- they fail at life and fail at running a company period, feel sorry for some of the talent there that has a chance but they will never get there under TNA's banner
i put f. put d in wwe page. whreastling is just not well writen anymore. i stoped watching tna for a long time just got to bad. aj styleys getting back on top brought me back in. thinkig about it right before christen left i enjoyed impact as much as i did raw. i was exicted when hogan joined up but i was wrong he nearlly kiled tna for me.
This was TNA's annus horriblis. If it could go wrong this year, it did, and I feel incredibly generous giving TNA a D- on the year. The high points of the year would have been business-as-usual this year; most of the 'good' that happened was considered 'good' because it wasn't as awful as everything else.
We started the year with the Aces and Eights storyline reaching its apex. (I know, right?) The Hogans and Bully Ray were fully invested together in a plotline, only for Bully Ray to betray Hulk Hogan in March. This was as good as TNA got this year... and it really wasn't that great. We quickly go from Brooke's wardrobe malfunction to Brooke sabotaging the whole storyline with IRL posts on her Twitter.... which had been used to further storylines. Oops. The storyline then just sort of stuck in complete limbo for the rest of the year, never really going anywhere, but Mike Tenay and Tazz did their best to convince us that it was. Oh yeah, they also brought another girl into Aces and Eights, on the sole basis that she shared a first name with the previous woman in Aces and Eights. Let's have our "2013 recap" posts be the last time we have to think about how fucked up this story got.
The next best thing to happen to TNA this year was that they criminally misused AJ Styles, throughout the year. If there was a dead-end, go nowhere story, he was there. (Yes, yes, I know this current story will be different, of course.) Again- after all this, it got worse for TNA.
Kurt Angle continued to pick up DUI's; TNA continued to take the real-life troubles of their star actors and make storylines out of them. (#Dixieland)
TNA stopped live events abruptly and failed to pay their employees on time, leading to what was very likely a wildcat strike by their performers at an event in July. (A dozen of your employees do not suddenly have 'paperwork issues' the day of a card, unless that paperwork issue involves TNA not signing pieces of paper with dollar amounts on them. If you bought that explanation, you are an idiot- statement of fact, not insult.)
Bound For Glory? The picture in my signature illustrates everything you need to know about TNA's biggest show of the year.
More employees left the company than we can collectively remember. They have not been, and will not be, replaced by equivalent performers in 'roster reshuffling'.
The biggest story at the end of the year was not 'what TNA has planned for 2014', but 'will TNA sell out to someone who can turn this mess around?' What's even worse is that it doesn't appear that there's anyone out there who'd be interested in purchasing the product, even as a tear-down job.
Oh yeah, and Tito Ortiz was there for a few days. We've all tried to forget.
2013 was the year where TNA's management issues finally outpaced their ability (or desire) to spend money. If they don't make a major turnaround from where they are right now, they will not survive 2014. (Save me the "but this other guy on the internet said once that TNA would fail and it hasn't yet, your argument is invalid and they will live forever" shit, please, there's always someone.) 2013 was the worst year I've seen for TNA, and right now they aren't trying anything different- they're just reverting back to 2009 mode, and hoping that still works with in 2014.
EGO was entertaining, and Bobby Roode is always solid. That's the difference between a D- and an F for TNA this year. (No one gives a shit about Magnus. If you say you do, you're lying.)
I still DVR'd it every week but damn I skipped a lot. But any Fed that has Kurt Angle and Christopher Daniels can't be all that bad.
Aces & 8s was a yawnfest from day one - lower mid carders with nothing else to do, although it was great at making Bully Ray an old school heel again. Roode and Storm both seemed to lose momentum. I watch Sting and Hardy for nostalgia value. Doesn't seem to be a mid/lower card at all. (I admit, I FF through Bromance, Knockouts, Gunner, Joseph Park etc)
But hey, they have Kurt & Daniels right? If that was the World Title match every week for a year, and they had promos every week, I'd still be there in week 52.
I might have been a little too rude by grading them as borderline failure, but I can't help it. They have failed in most things they tried. The limited PPV concept failed, free special episodes concept also failed, going on the road failed, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff too finally left after taking much more than contributing.
Coming to the program, this year we had to witness painful Dixie Carter promos, Joseph Park having the same type of match so many times where he gets beaten up, sees blood and becomes strong but ultimately its not enough, new stars that have failed to deliver, Sting losing too many times, many repeat matches etc.
This is the third year in a row that TNA would wish didn't happen.
The shows themselves have been good, or at least those I've seen. It didn't have Claire Lynch in it, so it's an automatic improvement from last year.
The good:
*Bad Influence
These guys made wrestling in 2013 for me. Great matches, even better promos and the evolution of Frankie Kazarian is now complete. Kaz improved a hell of a lot on the mic since they first paired him with Daniels, who deserves sainthood for his year.
*The Dirty Heels
Another great heel team. Short-lived, but when you pair the likes of Roode and Aries, what else do you expect?
*Sabin's cuppa coffee in the big leagues
The first sign of continuity following A-Double's "Option C" wasn't bad at all. He had good matches and was a great underdog to the Bully and a great underdog for the MEM to protect.
*Bully Ray
After trolling the lot of us with the Sting facepaint last year, he was great as the big bad guy behind A&8s. Actually, I think it's fair to say he WAS that stable. Also, finally calling time on that drawn-out, undercooked story was a great decision.
*So long, brothurrr!
Self-promoting, money-hogging, disappointment Hulk Hogan is no longer a drain on the company funds. It was fun to see Hulkamania running wild on TNA, but he wasn't the bona fide draw we all hoped for. Also, it was adios to Chavo, who had no business in TNA to start with.
*EC3
After missing out on Derrick Bateman, the WWE released him and they have to be kicking themselves. He's shown what good comedic heel work he can do.
*Giving Zema Ion a job
The Jesse Sorenson injury/eventual firing still bothers me when I think about it. I completely understand that it's a business and not a charity, but keeping Zema Ion on-screen (and giving him that title shot) in the meantime as the annoying DJ he's made to be was heart-warming to me.
The bad:
*Joseph Park big reveal
I was genuinely shocked when I saw that they're doing this angle with him and EY now. I know internet fans are never grateful for any attempt at something shocking, but even the most dense casual fan must've worked this out by now?
*James Storm
How much longer must this guy languish in the bottom and midcard? He's shown that he does have a huge following and at that one mini PPV (where they showed about twenty minutes of a 2008 Kaz match, that didn't make sense either), he was the main attraction and the pop was very good.
*Taz on commentary
Hardly restricted to 2013, but apart from the reveal, him being in A&8s made him even more of an annoyance. Add to that his use of wrestling "insider's terms" and it gets pretty grim.
*From taped to live to taped
This point doesn't bother me at all, since I get to see Impact a few days after it airs in the US anyway, but when things aren't live, you run the risk of extra spoilers. I've heard people say it feels different if it's taped, but I can't really comment on that.
*The unemployment line
Holy sht, TNA? Look at all the people that you let go! There are many more who showed potential, but here are my chief complaints:
1) Matt Morgan, who was given a short programme with Hogan and who could've been TNA's leading big man
2) Crimson, the guy you invested not only a winning streak, but a repackage shortly before sacking him
3) Taeler Hendrix, who you probably signed for peanuts anyway, who was really athletic, not to mention super hot
4) RVD (best for last) probably wanted to go to the WWE, in hindsight, but with just a fraction of the "Hogan money pile" they surely could've kept him happy, just like they did with Hardy?
The ugly:
*Off into the sunset
AJ Styles finally got the push we've all been clamouring for, he was made world champ. What happened after that? He leaves Impact Wrestling and defends the TNA-title against non-TNA wrestlers. With only vignettes to keep his name alive and rumours of contract expiration, what's going to happen to AJ's star before he comes back to take back the title?
*MMA-legend Tito Ortiz
Not just the most disappointing reveal (aside from Abyss as Joe Park and most of A&8s) behind the August1-videos with little to no name value, but Tito was just one of the dubious signings. A (weak) case could be made for Rampage Jackson, having starred in the A-team movie, but over-the-hill Pacman Jones is also in the mix. My question is not whether these guys should've been signed or not, but do they warrant the termination of the host of other people TNA's let go?
***
So it hasn't been all rosy for TNA, but there have been plenty of good on-screen action to compensate for all the other drama that accompanied 2013.
For me, this question is a no brainer. Clearly an F. Just because they may have done a couple of things correctly doesn't earn them a passing grade. Let's face it, if I take an examination and I get 4/10, I get a failing grade, even though I got four things right. The handful of minor things that TNA did well by no means offset the multitude of things they did wrong.
For me personally, the measuring stick by which I assess the grade for Impact Wrestling is simple. This year, I largely stopped watching. Over the course of 2013, I went from a regular viewer, to a casual observer, to a very sporadic viewer, to almost never watching, to not even remembering that the show is even on. The fact that they have turned me off so fully and completely from the product is proof positive for me that the show, from me, gets a failing grade.
While the lines between reality and kayfabe may be blurry, it would appear that they have allowed AJ Styles to walk out the door. What should be their biggest asset, and one of their originals, gone. And this is after winning the title on their biggest show of the year, and then proceeding to go on a hiatus around the world, defending the title in venues not readily available to TNA viewers on TV programming. Maybe this is all kayfabe, and he is going to make a triumphant return in 2014, but it would appear to be a distinct possibility that this isn't happening, and if so, how can you grade them at anything other than an F?
Hulk Hogan was supposed to come on board and bring credibility to the company. 2013 was the year they finally conceded failure here and let him walk. Failure. Mickie James left as well. Not good. Now it appears Jeff Jarrett is going too, which I guess could be kayfabe but if not, seeing the founder of the company bolt hardly screams success.
Dixie Carter has become a fixture as an onscreen character, and from what little I've seen and read, it's been brutal. Brooke Hogan, no words necessary here. Aces and Eights had promise and could have been an intriguing concept, but it dragged on forever and took an eternity to terminate. TNA, plagued by financial troubles, elects to bring in MMA guys for limited benefit. Epic fail.
Chris Sabin had a lackluster title reign. "Awful Kong" exists on TV. The Knockouts division is damaged beyond repair. Jeff Hardy has been grossly underutilized. Same can be said for Angle, who has been plagued with off screen personal problems.
Off screen, TNA has been allegedly decimated by financial issues. Difficulties paying their talent. Going off the road. Possibly being for sale. Giving PPV's away for free on regular TV. Hard to even rate them as a D- in my opinion.
Sure, Bully Ray has been terrific. EGO has been solid, and Austin Aries and Bobby Roode have been great. They have managed to retain Sting (until he faces the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, again this year). But it takes more than a few bright spots to save TNA from a failing grade this year. I give them a resounding F. And I remain pessimistic for 2014. And unsure if they will even have a 2015.
I graded TNA a C to be generous. This year has been hit and miss for me. It wasn't all bad mind you, but wasn't all gravy, either. Everyone knows the A&8's was an epic fail as the year went on. Anything involving Brooke Hogan could've been scratched considerably. Chris Sabin's title reign was just what it was; plain bad. Then there was the Carters, both Dixie and EC3. I'm tired of the whole "heel authority figures" plots, and EC3 really doesn't entertain me at all. Another negative was releasing talented KO's like Tara and Mickie, but signing Lei'd Tapa (or Awful Kong). On the plus side, Bobby Roode was stellar, and Bad Influnce makes a good team. I've been rooting for Magnus for quite som time so I enjoyed his ascension. Joe never fails me, and it was great to finally see the A&8's put out of its misery. Let's hope things get better in the coming year.
I graded it a B minus. It hasn't been a 2009 great but it hasn't been a thumbs in the middle product either. I have been enjoying a lot of the product. If you don't want the negative side of things, scroll down a little, or a lot.
What irritated me:
The Brooke/Bully/Hogan angle:
I found this story to be very boring. It was one of the top heels in the industry gone lovey dovey. It was a lady in the center of attention because of her surname. The main issue? More Hulk Hogan, or as IDR called it: Total Nonstop Hogan. I wanted to watch stars such as AJ Styles, James Storm, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, etc. Bully didn't even win the tournament here in the UK to become the Number 1 contender for Jeff Hardy's World Championship which as really frustrating and made it seem as that Hogan was blatantly trying to keep the Hogan name at the top of the card.
The Aces and Eights:
The lack of star power and the fact that they were around for over a year got really frustrating. Apparently they were meant to end at this years Lockdown. Guess what, that's when the leader was revealed. They seemed as dominant as ever (from Tenay's side of the table) yet the group consisted of previous jobbers. Because the President of the group had the World Title and was/is heel, we were going to see a lot of the other members interfering in matches as well as being in several matches of their own. Again, these guys were jobbers, bad matches were expected and matches are exactly what we got. The moment which actually made me go was when Knux and Garrett left the group leaving Bully alone, only to have returned to the ring moments later to assist him! That made me think the group was staying for ever.
Lack of mid-carders or Knockouts:
This was an issue last year as well. There have been only 5 tag teams this year. Gunner and James Storm, The Bad Influence, Chavo and Hernandez, Dirty Heels and the Bro-mans. These were all in separate times as well. Gunner and Storm came in the summer and the Bro-mans came a while before Bound For Glory, while Dirty Heels were only around for a short while. Also, how many of you here actually wanted to see Chavo and Hernandez on Impact Wrestling? The Knockouts division is shocking compared to what it once was. Every month only three or four are used until they get dropped and another suddenly shows up out of nowhere. From Bound For Glory to Final Resolution, this was pretty much the card for Impact: Something involving Bad Influence and Joseph Park, EC3 vs a jobber, Gail vs a random Knockout, a tag team match and last but not least the World Title tournament match. That can get really boring unless it's had a lot of effort put into. The last part of the year has had some terrible matches which I think falls on the fact that they barely have a mid-card division. There have only been 12 holders of the TV title since 2008 for crying out loud.
Hailing Chris Sabin:
Would someone tell me why he won the World Heavyweight Championship? Bully Ray was booked as an unstoppable machine and an underdog beat him which is fine, but this was Chris Sabin. While he is talented, no doubt, he wasn't ready for such a move. It only lasted a month and he got boring quickly. They should have expected that to happen. Think of it like this: In 2003, you had Benoit and Eddie in the WWE. You also had Brock Lesnar and Triple H. Which would you have in your main events continuously? The latter of course. While Benoit and Eddie were great technical wrestlers, they weren't Triple H caliber. That's a similar case with Sabin. He's nowhere near your Roode's, Storm's, Angle's and all those and wasn't the man to end Bully's reign.
The good part:
While people continuously look at the dark side, lets take a trip down memory lane:
The roster:
Wether it was the best act in the bus-i-ness, the Cyborg, The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, the Lone Wolf AJ Styles or the IT Factor of professional wrestling, the higher end of the roster is in it's best form. There are several talented people in TNA and that's what makes it watchable. That's what makes the PPV's must see events and the matches one of those "that was worth going back for" types. The matches here have been great and I can't get enough of any of the main eventers. Anyone saying their matches or promos have been awful are lying or have the description of those that would give an F-. Sometimes the main event was so racked up that talent had to be relegated if you will. Roode and Aries became a team of World Champions and Bound For Glory had an all-star match for the X-division championship involving Aries, Hardy and Samoa Joe. We've had the tag-team matches from the PPV's, the spots in the Styles-Bully match and comedy off of the Bad Influence. If anything, we've been spoiled by the main eventers.
Gail Kim vs Taryn Terrell:
This match was on the same card as Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles. Fans were saying that this match was better than Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles. This is definitely in the same category as matches involving Trish Status and Mickie James which really is an accomplishment. Later on as a main event (who would have thought, a main event with Knockouts) we got a ladder match which also amazed and which many were hyped for. I'm sure that was the match most people wanted to see that Thursday. This goes down as one of the most memorable matches this year, possibly one of the best and involved talent of the weakest division. That's hard work for you. Besides, how many of the men would go for a spot in which you get Bulldogged off of the stage down on to the ground?
The OMG moments:
This year I actually marked out a lot. There was the wedding of Bully and Brooke where Taz shocked us all. The Bully Ray reveal and the way it was done. He was made to look like an unstoppable bad-ass and that's what we got in the following months. Who could forget the Main Event Mafia return? Possibly the best stable in TNA returning was a shocker. Lets not forget arrivals of Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz. Sure I'm in the minority but this was great. This was two legit fighters in two different sides which I thought to be pretty cool, and it would have been interesting to see how they built towards their MMA match.
No One, the Lone Wolf AJ Styles:
I thought that this one stood out from the rest and involves an element of all the pros. Styles put on some good matches, played his part very well, had as all questioning his side of the war and shocked us all. I wasn't sure if he was with the M.E.M or the Aces and Eights. He had a motorcycle and dressed in black. He actually put on a jacket from the Aces and Eights before kicking the crap out of each and everyone of them moments later. Then there was his promo with Bully the week before Bound For Glory. Both had reasons to win and were going into the match strong. It was the Bully vs the Bad-ass and I loved it. The spot in their match in which he was going to do a Spiral Tap on Bully and put himself through the table made me go mad. That was crazy. His win over Bully was also spectacular, Styles gave us a reason to care about him winning and according to that crowd reaction, they did. It was also the "Summer of Punk" done correctly. AJ Styles left with the championship to defend it across the world which is something nobody would have expected, and I'm sure several would have bought tickets to the matches which have already happened. He really is the phenomenal one and made the product great to watch. I remember when he came out to his song and halfway through, we heard "get ready to fly". I jumped at that and couldn't believe it. It seems as if most of the positives this year come from Styles and a lot of his angle was to entertain and surprise.
For the most part, the product has been very enjoyable. Sure there have been a lot of issues, financial ones too, but every company has its ups and downs. The ups here overcome the downs which made Impact Wrestling a joy to watch this year.
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was when Knux and Garrett left the group leaving Bully alone, only to have returned to the ring moments later to assist him! That made me think the group was staying for ever.