Things I'd Like to See Addressed in TNA

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents

I had planned on making this a 5-part series, but 1) who really wants to read 5 blogs and 2) I’m lazy so getting one blog is challenging enough these days. As I’ve said over the past year, I really feel TNA is on the right path to being a solid company and worthy competitor to WWE. That being said, there’s still a lot of work to be done before TNA can get lazy and rest on any laurels of success. The following is a list of things I’d like to see addressed before Bound For Glory.

Hernandez & Chavo
Photo courtesy: TNA

The Tag Team Division: For the past few months there have been three tag teams battling over the titles. Chavo/Hernandez, Roode/Aries and Daniels/Kaz have been playing hot potato with the number one contendership and the tag belts. Am I to believe there are no other tag teams in TNA that could at least act as a buffer to prolong another match between the previously named trio of teams? Aces and Eights have two potential teams in their ranks. Why haven’t Bischoff/Brisco or Doc/Knox attempted to bring the tag gold to the clubhouse? Why were Robbie E and Robbie T split up? Why did Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan never do anything as a tag team after putting them together at Bound For Glory 2012?  Sure the tag team title matches have all been good this year but the division is far from ideal.

Wrestlers Disappear for Months at a Time: Speaking of tag teams, at Slammiversary, James Storm got to pick his partner for a Four Way Tag Title Match.  His partner was the returning, Gunner. I don’t remember the last time Gunner was on TV and pretty sure the last time he was on Impact he was a heel teaming with Kid Kash.  So Gunner shows up and the crowd let out a collective, “who’s that?” 

Right before Lockdown, Sting brought back Eric Young to be on his team for the Lethal Lockdown match. EY had appeared sporadically over the past year due to shooting his reality fishing show. I don’t think EY has been seen since Lockdown. There may be a storyline reason for his absence that I don’t recall, but the point is wrestlers being brought in and used once or twice then disappearing is more the norm than the exception in TNA. Look at how guys are brought in for X-Division matches and once they lose are rarely seen again until a spot has to be filled in an X-Division match.

One of my big complaints with WWE and TNA is the same wrestlers are on every show, and usually interacting with the same wrestlers week after week. I wish one company would learn how to effectively rotate the roster so shows feel fresh.

Why is the Knockout Tag Title Still Around? It was bad enough when Eric Young and ODB won the Knockout tag titles but now that they’ve been champions for over a year while Eric is rarely around and ODB has been named the Knockout division referee, can the titles be forgotten? Most fans probably have forgotten they exist anyway. I’m including this here because EY/ODB are still listed as champions on the Impact Wrestling website.

Aces & Eights

Why Should I Care About Aces and Eights? Have Aces and Eights ever won a match they didn’t rig?  I think the nWo B-team won more matches than Aces and Eights have won. Why bring in Doc and Knox and have them be nothing more than punching bags for Sting and Kurt Angle? They’re close to the point where they should swamp out D-Lo Brown with Al Snow and change the name of the group to The Job Squad.

For the love of God, do not have Hogan vs. Bully Ray at Bound for Glory: I may be putting the horse before the cart for this one. However, given the storyline with Hogan wanting revenge for Bully Ray tricking him into giving Bully the title shot at Lockdown and for Bully marrying Brooke Hogan.  Add in Hogan’s recent comments about wrestling again and wanting to be TNA Champion, I’m going to address this possible scenario.

Hogan & Bully Ray
Photo courtesy: TNA

Yes Hulk Hogan gets one of the loudest cheers from live audiences. Why? Hulk Hogan is a legend in the sport of wrestling and had a hall of fame career. If Magic Johnson stepped foot at center court of the Staples Center, he’d most likely get a loud ovation as well. Same thing would happen if Wayne Gretzky, Ozzie Smith and Dan Marino took the field in their respective hometown arenas. Does this mean they should suit up and play another game? No. It means fans are appreciative of the athlete’s careers and are giving them the reaction earned from years of playing.  Hulk Hogan is the biggest name on the TNA roster, of course he’s going to get cheered. In no way though should the Hulkster consider another match, especially a match for the TNA title.

A big reason why wrestling is stagnant at the moment is the lack of new stars being made. Putting the biggest name in the business, who’s been around for over 30-years in a match with a guy who’s been around for nearly 20-years isn’t going to do anything for the long term success of TNA. It will give the appearance that TNA doesn’t know how to build new stars and relies on past stars to sell their shows.

Since TNA has four months to build up to Bound For Glory, hopefully they’ll use that time to take whoever they see has a potential face of the company and build that person up as a credible challenger for the title. Now that I’ve typed that, unless Hogan is entered into the Bound For Glory series, there should be no logical way he challenges for the title at BFG. Stranger things have happened though. TNA could always rehash the ending of Wrestlemania 9.

So there are just five areas I’d like to see addressed by TNA and improved upon before their biggest show of the year. Since Bound For Glory is being held in San Diego, I am planning on making the two-hour trip down Interstate 5 to see the show for the second consecutive year. Last year’s show was a better experience than being at Wrestlemania 28. We’ll see if the same holds true this year.

Do you have any suggestions for TNA? Share them on our Facebook page. Not that TNA will read them. Just curious to hear what other fans think.