New York, NY -I may not have followed the TNA brand from the beginning, but it was pretty early on that I had my first experience with the show on Spike TV. After having watched the true Total Non-Stop action brand I was hooked. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I was hooked on the six sided ring, I was hooked on the X-Division and guys like Samoa Joe, Amazing Red, A.J. Styles and the rest of the crew.
At one point in time TNA was different, it was exciting, high-flying and it took your breath away. And yes ladies and gentlemen I was hooked. Like most fans I would sit loyally on Thursday nights and tune in, I would have a routine in which I would watch both TNA and WWE and loved every minute of it. I would also go to the live shows, buy the merchandise and anxiously wait every week for more six-sided action.
Then the news on that one faithful day on October 27, 2009 when Hulk Hogan would sign with the company, which turned out to be the saddest day in the history of TNA. Much like everyone else I was excited. I had hoped that with Hogan joining TNA brand that we would finally bring back the days of competition in pro wrestling. I had hoped that maybe Hogan would help the younger guys with their promotion skills and believed that he would take things to the next level.
Little did I know what was really happening, I didn’t listen to those who knew Hogan better then I (who just watched the Hulkster from the TV screen like everyone else). I just sat there and believed and hoped that TNA would be set for bigger and better things.
Before I knew it the six sided ring went away, and this ridiculous (thank goodness they got rid of it) entrance ramp went from the stage to the ring. Hogan and company started to make changes, and some were not liked. TNA started to become more talk and less action, and I know that there were many that were discouraged.
Things had started to become interesting again, guys like Abyss and Jay Lethal were starting to get good storylines under the Hogan regime and it was okay. I like everyone else were getting used to the idea of the changes and started to enjoy the product again.
TNA took a turn for the worse and I stopped watching around 10-10-10 when ‘Immortal’ storyline came to light, ever since that day the ratings for the brand have been suffering. On Thursday January 27, 2011 I decided to sit down and watch to see what if anything has changed.
Rumors have been flying online as of late that the brand will be bringing back another heel group ‘Main Event Mafia’ to feud with ‘Immortal.’ So part of me was wanting to see what is happening with this company that I was once hooked on.
The show started with a match with the ‘Knockouts’ tag team match. The one thing that I personally always enjoyed was the fact that the ’Knockouts’ division is one of the strongest women’s divisions in professional wrestling. It had always been strong with the likes of ‘The Beautiful people’ and once upon a time a woman by the name of ‘Awesome’ Kong. Now the company has re-added Tara and brought in Mickie James.
It was nice on this night to see the ladies get some air time again, it felt like for the longest time that the ‘Knockout’ division was forgotten and weren’t allowed to shine on television, which was a shame since that was one of the many reasons I think many people enjoyed the TNA brand. Because TNA actually had legit women’s wrestling.
They also had one of the most exciting products in the X-Division on display again tonight. At one point in time with the new Immortal rule these guys would not be promoted, on this night fans got to see some exciting X-Division action which was refreshing.
Also nice to see and is something that was enjoyed, was seeing guys like current roster stars Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson-Anderson and former stars like Christian Cage and R-Truth a crack at the heavyweight strap. They actually gave guys interesting storylines before Immortal; they gave their stars interesting promos, and interesting feuds.
For once I was able to watch TNA and be interested again-I didn’t have Immortal completely controlling the storyline from the beginning to the end. If TNA wishes to regain some fans along with some ratings the type of programming they had on this night will be just the ticket they need.
They also need to start pushing guys like ‘The Pope’ D’Angelo Dinero the right way, Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe and the other talented guys that they have on their roster. It was nice to see these guys get interesting storylines and cut good promos.
Oh and yes ladies and gentlemen TNA now does have ‘The Main Event Mafia’ feuding with “Immortal.” This means only one thing that people within the company realize that yes they are losing fans and yes-maybe hopefully they are taking steps to do that.
TNA’s problems are solved with this feud between the two heel factions, but if TNA can do that if somehow the company can combine interesting storylines with the Total Non-Stop action brand that they once had-maybe just maybe not only this fan, but many others will be hooked once more.
Twitter/Statsgirl1495
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