The wrestling world, for the most part, seems to be jumping hand over fist to kind of revel in recent reports of the cancellation of IMPACT WRESTLING in each other’s faces. i’m pretty sure you can find more than enough sources right in our own forum, in the TNA section, full of people who will gladly share to you their two cents on what exactly they think of every segment of the company. Needless to say, a ton of people are ready to dumb a mountain of crap on TNA over this, some of it justly deserved.
However, I think it’s unfair, and I think there should at least be one, just one, remembrance of TNA out there that showed this company, not as some kind of enemy of wrestling fans everywhere, but rather as a company that, at least to me, has reignited my passion for wrestling more than anything else. To avoid too much details, I’ve been someone know for enjoying IMPACT Wrestling and TNA as a whole, so it seems fitting to share some thoughts on it in a moment like this.
I was there when they left the Asylum in Tennessee to go to the Zone in Florida. I was there for Planet Jarrett, The Christian Coalition, The Angle Alliance, Aces & Eights, Planet Dixie, and the little known Foley Fornicators. I was there for SEX, XXX, AMW, 3LK, MMG, The Johnsons, The Naturals, Phi Delta Slam, Beer Money, Team Canada, Team Mexico, Team Japan, Team TNA, Ink Inc, and dozens more. I saw the highs, and saw the lows, reveled in the steps forward, and shrunk back with the steps back.
I was there when TNA first got on Spike TV. I even still have the first episode on cassette tape. From watching AJ Styles beat Roderick Strong with the Styles Clash, reveling in seeing Monty Brown pounce a poor jobber out of his boots, seeing ads for the big PPV BOUND FOR GLORY and thinking “Really? Kevin Nash in the main event? Well, okay then.” , and at the end seeing The Dudley’s, now rechristened Team 3D, save the day from that damn dirty Jarrett. It’s been so long since then, but it still seems so vivid in my mind.
In the nearly 8 years since then, I’ve been asked why I even like this company so much. There are a few different answers, but the simplest answers is that TNA has always had something I liked on it. TNA has been accused of never having an identity beyond a rip off version of some other company. I never saw that. What TNA was, in my eyes, was a company that saw the past, present, and future of wrestling co-mingle in one place. Somewhere I can see some of the people I loved as a kid, along with seeing some of the mainstays of the moment, and rooting for some new up and comer to get a shot. Plus, cause of the nature of the company, it lead to a lot of people who many considered washed up to develop something new to keep them in the game.
However, this is not necessarily the end of TNA. The current deal goes until October, and it still being negotiated, there’s a chance that TNA can continue, either still on Spike or on a different channel. (Hey, don’t blame a guy for dreaming.)
If this is not the end, then great. I’ll dance the Mamushka to the rhythmic gnashing of teeth that will follow that news.
However, if this is the end, if this is the last run of Total Nonstop Action, the final chapter,well that’s it, then. I’ll raise a glass in toast and give thanks to a company that brought me so much enjoyment on it’s time on Earth.