Looking At If TNA Impact Wrestling Has Failed Pro Wrestling

In the last few years, it has become embarrassingly easy for WWE and wrestling fans to mock, belittle or criticize TNA Impact. A company that once had such huge potential has wilted and shriveled into a mockery of its former potential. The idea that TNA once posed the greatest threat to WWE’s dominance and security actually carried weight at one point, with the signings of multi-talented stars to the TNA roster like Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe & Sting. Fans of professional wrestling had reason to believe in a brighter, more entertaining future for themselves and for the industry.

Fast forward eight pitiful years, however, and a woefully different story can be told. The bright light that Impact Wrestling once represented has been extinguished, probably for good, and the hope and support of fans has diminished at an alarming rate. The demise of TNA Impact has been a depressing one for the average wrestling fan, as with TNA’s inability to flourish we were succumbed to the realization that WWE had no competition, thus no motivation to improve on their product. If you are the only brand of water in the fridge, then people have no choice but to drink you.

Over the last decade, poor, regurgitated WWE storylines, wrestler controversies and poor business dealings have all but sealed the fate of TNA. For me personally, it was the shambles of watching Jeff Hardy lose to Sting in a number of seconds on PPV whilst under the influence of alcohol that stopped me watching TNA on a full-time basis. The disgust I had for a man, and more importantly an athlete, who would risk the health of his fellow performer by coming to work intoxicated, was something that sickened me. And no, that isn’t the reason WHY TNA has been a failed project, it has simply contributed to it. Kurt Angle’s arrests and Hulk Hogan and his sex tape have also blighted the respect of many, and to see TNA and Dixie Carter defend such offenses is an insult to her company and to her fan base (yes, all 15 of them).

A few weeks back, pictures surfaced all over the internet of TNA live shows drawing far less people that the building could hold. It was embarrassing, and to me highlighted perfectly the downfall that TNA have experienced in recently years. If your shows cannot attract 1,000 people in one of the most highly-populated countries in the world, then why are you hiring out 10,000 seat arenas? Despite my pity of a company like TNA, I do and always have wanted them to succeed, and to see pictures like those that surfaced creating such a disappointing scale of success is an upsetting sight to behold. There is talent in TNA for sure, with Bobby Roode, Bully Ray & MVP being among the strongest on the roster, but the utilization of these workers has been abysmal, to say the least, in the past few years.

At what point does Dixie Carter turn round and say to herself; “You know what, I don’t think it’s worth it anymore” (which also happen to be the wise words of Spike TV)? At what point do TNA fans stop hiding behind defenses of their product like “You know, the shows in New York have been great!” (Admittedly, they were) and at what point do TNA wrestlers look for jobs elsewhere in the professional wrestling business, be it ROH, WWE or even Global Force Wrestling.

So yes, in my opinion TNA Impact HAS failed the industry of professional wrestling. Whether it was the fault of Vince Russo, Dixie Carter or others, TNA have let down an entire generation of wrestling fans, and for that they cannot be forgiven. A once great future has amounted to all of about nothing, and that my friends is a reality, not an opinion. A sad reality, but a reality at that.

What do YOU think about the misfortunes of TNA? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised. Follow me on Twitter @OliverNorgrove .