All Guts, No Glory: TNA's Event Of The Year Leaves Company On The Brink

With my jaw wide open, I sit here in front of the computer screen, glacially typing about what my ice-blue eyes have just bore witness to...

At TNA’s flagship event of the year, Bound For Glory, the anonymous group that Abyss has been ball-aching about for the past couple of months known as “They,” finally disclosed their identities in the form of Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, the newly-crowned TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy, completed by none-other than Abyss.

Shock, horror, and utter bemusement surface in the crevasses of brain... Somebody, please buy “Running a Wrestling Promotion for Dummies” for Dixie Carter. I beg of you.

Yes, I speak negatively of the events that have hyped many TNA wrestling fans tonight. But I speak as a TNA fan myself, and a very concerned fan at that.

There were many mistakes at Bound For Glory; every match outside the awesome TNA Tag Team Championship bout between Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me, was repugnant at the very best.

But the biggest mistake was during the highly-anticipated TNA World Heavyweight, Triple Threat match between Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson, and Jeff Hardy. With the help of Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and the returning crock Hulk Hogan, Hardy defeated Angle and Anderson for the vacant Heavyweight Championship.

What a load of utter garbage... Is it WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 again?? The fact that the whole creative team at TNA have again resorted to a rehashed storyline, shows the lack of identity and originality the company has.

Is it any coincidence that tonight’s Bound For Glory event was held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL – the exact same venue that WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 was held at? And I thought the  resemblances of the two event’s occurrences was awful enough, TNA keep throwing me a bone... But I digress.

 This year, we have already had an attempt at a nWo reunion (The Band), a “new” reincarnation of The Four Horsemen (Fourtune), The Orlando Screwjob (a take on The Montreal Screwjob), EVO 2.0 (TNA’s own ECW PPV and storyline), amongst so many others.  Just what makes the creative team believe the fans want to see recycled scripts?

In fact, how long will it be before Hulk Hogan pokes Jeff Hardy to become TNA World Heavyweight Champion? I want to be warned in advance, please...

The extremely sad part about the happenings is the build-up to it; the writing was actually very clever. A part of the occurrences (the fact that it turns out the heel, Sting was actually in the right all along, thus will be turning face) was a stroke of genius.

 However, we have spent the last 10 months trying to figure out the motives of Sting’s rebellion, and the last 2-3 months wondering who this mysterious “They” are, only to find out it was wrestling’s most-least over star of all time (Jarrett), a Mankind wannabe (Abyss), a senile OAP (Hogan), a controversial p**** (Bischoff) and Jeff Hardy? Are you freaking kidding me??

Obviously a vain attempt at creating a new nWo-like faction, it is made up of the most random, unconvincing  group of people, and they don’t look like a legitimate threat to the company whatsoever. “They” don’t scream “power crazy,” like the nWo back in 1996. If anything, “They” look crazy, or delusional in comparison, and certainly not a group that makes me think, “I must tune into Impact this week!!”

And if it couldn’t get any worse, it does...

TNA have placed their World Heavyweight title around the waist of a potential felon. Indeed, it is possible that Jeff Hardy could be heading to prison in a few weeks time...

Way to diminish the prestige of your top title, Dixie!!

It’s funny, I talk about how TNA keep rehashing WCW scripts, and they may have gone one bigger than WCW placing their World Heavyweight title around the waist of David Arquette... I hope for their sake that Jeff Hardy is not found guilty.

TNA had a lot of potential, and many believed that 2010 would be the year that they start to mount a serious challenge towards Vince McMahon’s WWE Empire. However, the only thing they have over WWE is their Tag Team division.

The only steam-rolling TNA has made this year is heading down the path of WCW, due to mistake after mistake, and made little headway to correct them.

They hired Bubba the Love Sponge, a controversial radio host whom made racial slurs to Awesome Kong. Instead of firing him, they let Kong go. They eventually fired Bubba, thankfully.

They hired Orlando Jordan, giving him a controversial bi-sexual gimmick which has incurred many controversial promos. Nothing against Jordan’s sexuality, but what I have seen of him in TNA has no place on television.

Hulk Hogan decided to re-design the TNA six-sided ring; one of a very few commodities that made their product different to WWE. One of the other unique aspects of TNA, the X-Division has been totally under-valued, a main reason being Amazing Red’s reign (he didn’t defend the belt, nor made any appearance on TNA television for two months).

Another division, the TNA Knockout’s Championship has been hit with a vast amount of departures. The Television Championship means virtually nothing. And, as ever, TNA’s own talent has been shafted for veteran signings, (Sean Morley, The Nasty Boys) which lead to the departure of TNA favourite Christopher Daniels.

I could go on, but the end all and be all is the Hogan/Bischoff regime has been a complete disaster. And it all has come to a head at Bound For Glory.

Call me Mr. Sceptic-o, but I firmly believe that in one night, TNA could have performed a Championship reign more diminishing than David Arquette’s, and their own Fingerpoke of Doom. I hope I am proved wrong, but I just don’t see it.

Blame Hulk Hogan. Blame Eric Bischoff. Heck, even blame Vince Russo.

But the person that is most at fault is Dixie Carter.

It is evident that she doesn’t have the right business mind to be in the professional wrestling industry. She may have the degree and experience that is needed financially, however, if you don’t know what makes money in wrestling you have no place within that business.

Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo have a bad reputation due their part in the demise of WCW. Unfortunately for TNA, Dixie Carter is as clueless as they come.

The combination of the four leaves TNA in a frightening state, and until the right business etiquette takes place in Orlando, only Vince McMahon and his WWE Empire will be Bound For Glory.