TNA is Saved: Dancing on the Grave of the ‘TNA is Dead’ Movement

It’s been a good week. First off, through a series of awesome circumstances, I found myself face to face with Sting this week, able to talk to him for a little bit. It was amazing, as Sting has looooong been an all-time favorite of mine and I really never thought I’d be lucky enough to meet him in any real setting. He was incredibly nice, appreciative, and even let this guy dork out a bit too much. An awesome thrill, and I really do hope we get to see him go at it one more time at this year’s WrestleMania, no matter how popular that sentiment may or may not be.

On top of that, we wrestling fans also received some good news (unless you’re a funny guy and like to argue). For the last few months, it’s felt like there was a giant storm rolling overhead with no signs of stopping. It’s been depressing, and it’s been the cause of some of the dumbest bickerfests one could read. Luckily, a few days ago, the clouds opened up and the sun shined through. It was on Wednesday where the news came out that TNA had signed a deal with Discovery sister channel Destination America, finally putting to rest the talk that TNA was dead (for the time being, and excluding jerks who openly wish it’d go away).

Back in August when it was announced that TNA was being cancelled by Spike (by a TMZ report that was widely derided but, you know, ultimately proven right), I wrote a column talking about how much of a bummer it would be if TNA went away, and that I hoped that, in the end, they’d figure something out to prolong their existence. Or, if you didn’t read it, I danced on their grave. Luckily, my fears were avoided and my hopes came true.

And while just a few weeks ago I railed on those who wanted TNA to die for whatever reason (some are more egregious than others), you’d think this would be a column dedicated to the “Suck it, haters!” movement that’s picked up some momentum in these last couple of days. However, you’d be thinking incorrectly. This isn’t a win just for TNA’s most diehard fans. This is a win for anyone that enjoys any part of TNA programming. We get to keep our show. We’re not going to be forced to watch only WWE programming on American Television (for those who don’t like Lucha Underground) for the foreseeable future.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it dozens of times- the business aspect of wrestling really doesn’t interest me that much. Fans who devour ratings numbers, pay per view buyrates, and live attendance as a way to measure how good something is don’t make a lot of sense to me. I know, I know- something about how if something is drawing well, it must be good. I’m pretty sure pop music as a whole has proven this idea to be wrong, but many still latch onto it. Impact must suck because it stays at a 1.0 ratings forever with no growth. They draw horribly. Their pay per views don’t sell well. Instead of saying “people are missing a program that can be fun,” we instead twist it into “the numbers are low because the show sucks.”

And hey, if that’s your deal, more power to you. There’s no right or wrong here- I’m just saying that that area of the wrestling fan society is one that I don’t personally see eye to eye with. And yet, we continue on, surviving on this spinning orb of ours.

However, while the business stuff isn’t always my cup of tea, there are moments where I can at least appreciate something in that area. For me, the big takeaway of TNA’s deal is that there are still channels out there who want wrestling. Sure, sure, the hilarious members of our little society will point out that Destination America is held in fewer households than Spike, and so they’re irrelevant, right? Wrong. With wrestling as a whole being seen as nearly undesirable programming unless you have “WWE” tacked on the header (and even that’s no guarantee of having an easy go, as WWE learned during their own earlier TV negotiations), having anyone throw their hat into the mix is, to me, a good thing. A network willing to take a chance on a show that is largely considered stagnant at best by its detractors and is fresh off being dumped by the network where it delivered the highest ratings makes me feel good as a wrestling fan.

Business stuff aside however, there’s plenty to be excited for if you consider yourself a TNA fan. If you don’t, then you probably aren’t going to be that stoked. Again, we’ll all be okay. As a fan of TNA these last few months, I’ve watched MY BOY Ethan Carter grow into his role, ditching some of the overly comedic aspects in order to become a more well-rounded heel, one able to throw out a good barb here and there, while still maintaining an air of intimidation. While I started wondering how hard they could push the man with their future in doubt, I think it’s safe to say that his rise to the top will continue as planned.

On top of that, the TNA Title scene has been a fun one to follow. Lashley proved himself to a be a valuable champion for TNA, finally giving the roster the big, bad menace that it has historically lacked. Matches with Eric Young, Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries, and Bobby Roode were all solid encounters, and his loss to Roode actually felt like a somewhat big moment, instead of circling back and putting the belt on a former champion. With Lashley seemingly a man with no country anymore, MVP looking to wear gold, and guys like Ken Anderson and James Storm attempting to rise back up the card again, the opportunity to put more effort behind the roster (since we’re no longer counting the days until the lights go out) is right here.

Storm and Anderson, respectively, represent two guys that TNA has, in my opinion, almost always dropped the ball on at the worst possible moment. Anderson made the mistake of joining TNA at the same time as Jeff Hardy and RVD, and was immediately cast aside for the other two. His TNA reigns were jokes, lasting no more than a couple weeks before he was ultimately defeated. He managed to climb his way back to the top after winning a feud with Bully Ray, but instead of capitalizing on it, he was instead forced into a horrible feud with Samuel Shaw, which he is only just now beginning to escape in order to help Sgt. Chris Melendez in his feud with MVP and Kenny King.

James Storm, on the other hand, won the TNA title from Kurt Angle clean in about a minute, and then promptly lost it to a freshly turned Bobby Roode. He would then lose his big rematch, and float around in tag team action. After splitting with Gunner earlier in the year, he seemed poised to make a move as a heel. Instead, he put together a weird faction with Manik and Sanada. However, he has started to make this work, and there’s a huge part of me that hopes the payoff is him stealing the TNA title from Bobby Roode at some point, closing the loop on the over 3 year old story.

Add to that the up and comers that TNA has on the roster, or guys like Tyrus (the former Brodus Clay) that never got a fair enough shake in WWE, and this company still has the pieces to put together a quality program week in and week out, regardless of your personal feelings towards Dixie Carter. All of this would have been a waste if TNA was to have ceased existing. Instead, everyone involved has a second chance.

So yeah, to be quite honest, perhaps I jumped the gun back in August. Perhaps it was silly to read a story that said that TNA was going to go away, and to write a column about how I’d miss it. That’s the beauty of this whole crazy life, though – you can own up to mistakes when you make them. Or you can call people children when they call you out on your mistakes, sure. But at least the option is there, right?

As I’ve said before and will repeat forever, I love wrestling. Good wrestling, bad wrestling, comic wrestling, serious wrestling – I love it all. Wednesday’s news may not make everyone happy, but it makes me happy. Ignoring Dixie Carter, TNA has- for years- provided an athletic alternative with their in-ring product that WWE can match, but often chooses not to. Stupid storylines happen everywhere. Nonsensical title changes happen everywhere. But Samoa Joe and Low Ki going at it? The amazing find of Bram bleeding buckets while doing worse to his opponents? There’s only one place to see these talents go at it, and I think that the American wrestling scene is all the better for it.

If you don’t like TNA, then by all means, continue to not watch it. Luckily, for those of us who do, we have a new Destination starting in 2015 to keep getting our action that’s totally non-stop.

The sun is shining again. TNA is saved.

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It’s All Wrestling. It’s All Stupid. We All Love It. TNA! TNA!