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If the old adage "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is true, then TNA is screwed.
On what was supposed to be the night that TNA changed forever and the night the wrestling world was never to be the same, TNA proved that not only could they not step up to the plate, but they barely could bunt the ball.
Let's just look at some of the ridiculousness that took place.
You know you're in trouble when Bubba The Love Sponge interviews a fan outside and the fan talks about how he wants to see WRESTLING. "Wrestling the way it used to be when I was young. Wrestling like when Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior wrestled." That's right, the first fan they talk to on this monumental occasion thinks Hogan and Warrior could wrestle.
The opening match was not only inside a cage structure that could barely be seen into on television but it was a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot. Nothing like having a cage match end in some kind of DQ and have your entire audience start chanting "Bull$hit!" on live tv. So you blow the match, piss off the fans then decide this would be a good opportunity to bring back Jeff Hardy to basically do nothing. Brilliant! Was it nice to see Hardy back on tv? Sure, if you're a fan. Was it necessary to have him come in an build up nothing though?
For no apparent reason, random former WWE stars just appeared on the show. Val Venis, Orlando Jordan, Shannon Moore, The Nasty Boys, plus several other all appeared but really served no purpose. I'm sure they'll be thrown into meaningless matches to "earn their spot" in the weeks to come. However, they really had no impact (pun intended) on this show.
The (cough) Beautiful People played strip poker for ratings. It wasn't all that funny. It didn't have much stripping. It didn't need to be on the show. Allegedly, Angelina Love was backstage but never used.
ODB pinned Tara and at the 2 count, my screen quickly switched to a shot of the damn cage from the previous match. I never saw the three count or the pull of the tights. That happened to several others I spoke to as well. Gotta love TNA. Notice how I didn't ask why they insist on switching the belt back and forth between just these two women.
Backstage, random people were attacked. We never found out who attacked them. Honestly, I don't think anyone cared nor will they remember by the time TNA returns in 10 days.
Ric Flair showed up, shook some hands and walked into AJ Styles locker room. Way to ruin a potential surprise. It ends up Flair came out and watched about 5 minutes of AJ v Kurt then left. Wow, that was earthshattering. You bring in RIC FLAIR and do that?? TNA never ceases to amaze me.
For 45 minutes we kept seeing footage of Hogan, in his limo, "just minutes away". Hogan finally arrived, entered the ring, and stated "I've been in the back all day talking to the young guys." Hmmm. Then who the hell were the cameras following in that limo you just allegedly arrived in?
Hogan pretty much said nothing of any importance during his 20 minutes in the ring. Hall and Waltman added nothing of interest. Bischoff did the same. If this was the start of the new era I think the era will be over real fast.
Bischoff and Hogan did tear up the format and come up with their own for the remainder of the show. They kept the Knockout Tag Match as scheduled. They changed Abyss v Rhino to Abyss v Samoa Joe but never mentioned that maybe it was because Rhino was attacked in the back. They had Hernandez and Morgan destroy Raven and Richards in seconds, again for no apparent reason. At least we got to see Daffney.
Oh yeah, Sting was there. Doing pretty much nothing. Plus they put the Pope over Wolfe. Ugh.
Foley spent the whole night trying to get in since he was "banned". He finally got in and Hogan, who was out on the ramp putting over AJ and Kurt, ran to the back when he heard. Foley was attacked by Hall and Waltman in Bischoff's office. Hogan arrived and the show faded to black by zooming in on Hogan's confused face. Twenty bucks says Hogan saves Foley in 2 weeks (even though it's being taped on Tuesday). However, by then who will care?
I know I'm missing a lot of other stupid mistakes, but I'm writing all this from memory.
I really was hoping that TNA would somehow stand up to the challenge and produce a flawless show (or at least one with just a few flaws) that started some great storylines, introduced some new wrestlers and angles, or did anything to increase my interest in their product (other than watching it just for the comedic aspects that aren't part of their plan). The potential was there. Maybe it's a case of too many cooks spoil the broth. Maybe it's a case of whoever has the final say doesn't know what the hell they are doing. Maybe it's a case of someone on the inside just trying to gradually destroy the company from within.
Whatever it may be, TNA dropped the ball in a huge way. If anyone tuned in tonight for the first time, I wouldn't expect them to be tuning in again in a week and a half when Impact returns.
