There seems to be the wave of change coming toward Total Nonstop Action, but what’s the next step for the Anthem-owned organization?
Last week, I penned an article about the exit of former TNA world champion, Steve Maclin, and at the time, it seemed more about Maclin in particular hitting a perceived ceiling in the promotion, but given the slew of departures this week, could there be a bigger story about to unfold?
I have to be honest, I was very surprised when I saw that news that ECW legend, Tommy Dreamer, who worked on the creative team since early-2019, announced on the Busted Open radio show that he had mutually agreed to part ways with TNA. Fightful Select reported that Dreamer was released from the writing team rather than a mutually departure, but the result is the same so the phrasing of how they got there is moot. Sami Callihan, who worked as a producer for the company since he retired from in-ring competition last year, posted on Twitter that he was also released from the organization. I’m not sure where Callihan lands, outside of continuing to run his own independent group, Wrestling Revolver. I’d expect Dreamer to offered a job with AEW sooner rather than later, if for no other reason than Tony Khan was a really big ECW fan, which isn’t to say that Dreamer doesn’t bring something to the table in a backstage role.
There are conflicting reports about the reasoning for the departures, as well as what’s next for the creative direction of the Impact show that airs on AMC every Thursday.
Among the speculation, there are reports that former Ring Of Honor wrestler and booker, Delirious, who has worked on the TNA writing team in recent years, could be bumped up to the spot previously held by Dreamer. It that’s the case, there might be very little to the story, as it would be a shuffle of the deck rather than a completely new game of cards being dealt. However, there is a noticeable amount of chatter online since the Dreamer news that former WWE head writer, Road Dogg could be the one in line to become the head of creative for TNA. If the real-life BG James would flourish in the TNA environment would be pure speculation since he has only written for a WWE product, but the bigger question might be, is it actually a realistic possibility or just internet gossip?
Unless there is something drastic ahead for the direction of TNA, and there might be, I don’t see Road Dogg taking a job that would involve a working agreement with WWE, considering that he just quit a similar role working directly for the WWE. I could be wrong, but my best guess is, at least based on where things are right now, I can’t see BG James jumping back into another stressful role in any company just a few months after he quit the WWE on his own. Again, that’s not to say that the member of the Armstrong wrestling family wouldn’t be able to contribute to TNA, but rather taking the entire scope of the situation into account.
Myla Grace, Dani Luna, and Tessa Blanchard also left the company. Myla Grace and Dani Luna are more or less under the radar among the pro wrestling landscape so their exit doesn’t translate to much in the grand scheme of things. Obviously, since they weren’t getting major opportunities in TNA, it was probably better for them to get their respective releases and look to make a name for themselves elsewhere.
Aside from being the most well known of the three women wrestlers that were released, Blanchard’s status, including where she works outside of TNA, might provide some insight into the bigger picture. As a disclaimer, Tessa was the rudest person that I’ve ever had to deal with during my time as a commentator in the Pittsburgh area during the past 18 years so I’m not a fan of hers and doubt I will have anything positive to say about her outside of the ring. However, there’s absolutely no doubt that she’s a tremendous performer and has the skills to be on the major platforms,while her attitude prevented her getting there. Tessa is a top quality talent and really lived up to the family name as a protege, as she’s only 30 years old now, but has been polished enough for the big time for several years.
In the past, Tessa was accused of making racist remarks toward an African American talent during a tour of Japan, as well as other disrespectful behavior. Blanchard apologized for her actions, and it’s very possible that she has learned from those mistakes. Most people aren’t the same person that they were a decade ago, or at least they should attempt some personal growth to get a better overall view of life. It’s possible that Tessa isn’t the same person today as she was in 2017, and if she is, she might’ve wasted a decade of her life. Still, her reputation for being difficult to work with, including when she refused to drop the TNA world title and instead sent it back in the mail, has followed her. While it’s possible that she evolved over time, the other side of the coin is that the dye might be cast in terms of the type of person that she is. She wouldn’t be the first and won’t be the last extremely talented person to waste their potential in the pro wrestling business.
Before she returned to TNA roughly a year and a half ago, the third generation star began working with CMLL in Mexico. The dynamics of lucha libre have changed a lot since the WWE acquisition of AAA, and look to be on the cusp of becoming a place where performers can make their career, both for the opportunities that will be provided with the WWE association, and outside of that realm as CMLL will look to ensure its market share in Mexico. But, when Tessa originally went there, it was the reason that most foreign stars ended up there because the money wasn’t great compared to other pro wrestling destinations, most went to Mexico if they burned bridges everywhere else. For example, Mexico was one of the last places that would book Teddy Hart because was too erratic to get work anywhere else.
According to reports, Blanchard requested her release from TNA because she wanted to keep her gig with CMML, which was rumored to be frowned upon since the WWE owns the rival promotion in Mexico and has a working agreement with TNA. As indirect of an impact as Tessa working for CMLL would have in the big picture, the fact that it might’ve been a point of contention with WWE with the working agreement might shed some light on the entire story.
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that when the WWE/TNA working agreement was put into place, there’s an option for the WWE to buy TNA if they choose to do so at some point in the future. In the midst of the slew of cuts, TNA actually sent out a press release and called the exits, “workforce reduction to streamline operations,” which could be PR jargon for getting rid of duplicate staff that would already be in place if the WWE buys the company. A similar process took place when the WWE merged with the UFC, and many of the office staff were released since the corporation would only need one set of office personnel.
I could understand why TKO might purchase TNA to further expand its footprint and essentially cater to a demographic that doesn’t lean toward the WWE product, but at the same time, working with TNA as an independently-owned group is a way to shield WWE from anti-trust violations. Remember, Major League Wrestling won a $20 million lawsuit against the company a few years ago.
Where TNA goes from here is really anyone’s guess and the next few months could determine its future.
All things considered, there’s no way Total Nonstop Action should’ve survived this long, but it started a new national television deal this year. That being said, the Impact show hasn’t really set the world on fire either, it just sort of exist as a smaller option within the landscape of the industry and doesn’t have enough stream to really change the direction of anything within the business. From the macro perspective, you have to wonder, is there truly room for a third national pro wrestling group? Sure, there needs to be an alternative to WWE, but outside of that, there are more options for consumers now than any other time in history through the advancement of technology. It’s a realistic possibility that a third organization isn’t going to garner enough of an audience to justify its place on cable television. This isn’t the late-90s when television was more or less the only distribution for content, and the internet wasn’t a household item yet so there were theoretically enough viewers to justify the existence of WWF, WCW, and ECW at the same time. Now, every network, streaming platform, and podcast look to get a piece of the pie. That inherently leaves less of the market share for any pro wrestling commodity.
Given that TNA has survived against all odds over the years, I can’t say they are going to fold or this is time for anyone to push the panic button for the promotion. But, if Anthem gets an offer, regardless of if that’s from the WWE or another group, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took it, especially because the show might’ve hit a ceiling as far as the audience it’s going to garner on AMC. It will definitely be interesting to see how the situation unfolds, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s new ownership by the end of the year.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
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