TNA Does It Again . . . Fails to Deliver.

            TNA built up 10/10/10 like it was their Wrestlemania; OK it was, but once again the intertwining storylines and conflicting agendas spoil what is supposed to be the alternative.  I, like many others, want something different from what WWE is putting on air.  The Nexus is not 100% original, but what is anymore and yet still is the best thing on TV right now.  The way I see it TNA promised to deliver two things at Bound for Glory:  Smoke and Mirrors and They.  Instead what we got were current members of the roster gaining even more television time.

They

I along with everyone else I know assumed that at least one, just ONE, person from outside the company would make an appearance in Daytona.  Maybe Shane McMahon, my choice, was too much but at least a Batista or Paul E. wasn’t that wild of a guess.  The months leading up to the reveal of They does not merit Hogan joining the nWo once again inside the Sunshine State.  What can that group possibly do to bring back their audience that is infatuated with UFC to the point that all Affliction shirts and Japanese character tattoo artists are in higher demand than skim milk?  Nothing.  They’re gone, and until you focus on keeping what audience you have left, which includes acknowledging that the fans have a memory greater than two weeks, urgency and anticipation will not matter.  Once Jeff Jarrett stepped down off that apron, I knew no one was coming.  Does Anderson make more sense than Jeff Hardy to fill the position?  Of course he does, but so does Angle.  Just please don’t try and make me believe or care that the balance of power and management in TNA is under attack and control from the men standing in the ring when the picture faded.

What was good about 10/10/10?

            The Motor City Machine Guns prove once again that those belts should have been around their waists years ago.  These guys are what the X Division once was and still should be.  Yeah I feel like there’s a point where so many somersaults and back flips are overkill, but listen to the people in that arena that actually PAID to see a TNA show.  Only good to come out of Team 3D’s challenge now.  RVD and Abyss delivered.  Van Dam gets his revenge with just enough; we don’t need tacks and glass every Abyss match, and proves why he is Mr. PPV.  The main event of the evening just got going when everything went down.  I could do without Eric Young and OJ killing time and rushing the last match which is all that was.  Angle, Anderson, and Hardy all deserved to be in that match and were just a casualty of the events to follow.

Phenomenal

            Ask anyone in TNA, in-ring performer to backstage hand, who is the best wrestler in the world and convincingly they will tell you AJ Styles.  And I have a hard time disagreeing with that myself, although I may offer an argument and eventually lose out to the Phenomenal One.  AJ was used in, essentially, a 10 man tag where no one man shined brighter than the next.  Outside of one Pele` kick, he was interchangeable with anyone else in the company.  You showcase you top guy because he IS your top guy.  There has just got be a point where AJ, and Joe, go to someone and say “I’m not going up north because I know how they’ll misuse me, but you gotta work with me here”.  Last year at this time AJ had that belt and humbly defeated Sting in the middle of the ring.  No storylines, no help, he plain and simple was just better.  Until TNA puts AJ as the focus of the company, with or without the belt, they are making a mistake.

 Honestly I don’t know if I’m going to watch Impact on Thursday.  I usually watch it a few days later online and sometimes I don’t even have the want to do that.  But after what they did tonight, why should I bother?  Go ahead and say TNA is better because they used to have an X Division (I know they still technically do), because you hate John Cena (along with I), and because the roster is more talented (it is), but don’t tell me that it’s better; because it just isn’t.