TNA, AJPW, NWA. All of them share the indisputable fact that they’re promotions deeply embedded within the very lexicon of skilled wrestling, and the indisputable fact that they’re hollowed-out shells of what they once were for a myriad of various reasons.
This week’s offering gave a yet again, pretty good set of segments inside the Undead Realm, and yeah, that’s just about it once more. It’s frustrating, because there have been actually very many truly enjoyable elements of the show (for those watching on some platforms). The difficulty being that almost all of them were retrospective match highlights – specifically Lockdown in light of TNA’s announcement on Thursday – featuring the likes of Sting, Mick Foley, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, James Storm, Bobby Roode, and Christian Cage, simply to name a handful. That is what TNA was, that is what it could still be.
However it’s stuck on this never-ending limbo of recycled 2000s WWE segments and System saturation. I resent the indisputable fact that it’s like this because, sure, there are some names one might describe as has-been or never-was. But there may be a ridiculous amount of talent and potential on the roster. Mike Santana is TNA World Champion, that is great but let’s get him some real challengers. Wealthy Swann is a step in the proper direction but as said, the System looms.
Leon Slater is hand-on-heart top-of-the-line wrestlers with the brightest futures, let’s not have him teaming with Moose in a two-on-four handicap match with Cedric Alexander and the three inferior staff. The Knockouts division is a far cry from the times of Jordynne Grace. Daria Rae is working any wrestling GM you might have ever seen and detested time and time before. Santino Marella was entertaining, which is perhaps an indictment on the general product in itself given he’s on the tail-end of his profession.
But he has been suspended and wasn’t on the show. Which only allowed Daria to proceed to have things her way. It’s a extremely nonsensical point for the GM to need to stifle their very own show, though I assume possibly they do not have kayfabe performance reviews.
Now I’m just nitpicking, but the purpose is the show fails to attain what it will probably be. The promotion is hardly being seen in the very best light because Slater cannot dare to work an independent date with a wrestler signed to a different company, all to be sure that the working relationship stays alive, in order that Arianna Grace can proceed to be Knockouts Champion and elevate the division in a way only a “WWE NXT” enhancement talent can.
The way in which things are continuing, I could be all too nice with the show being comprised of solely highlights from the years before.
Written by Max Everett