Friday, December 27, 2013

Impactful Feedback: Back on Track

Jeff Hardy in the process of losing his Technicolor smile
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com
The good news is that I can now say that I have successfully completed my first Christmas season as a store manager. It was long and arduous, but in the end, I feel confident with the job I was able to do throughout the season, and the store didn't burn down in the process. The bad news is that I was so far behind on my Impact watching that my DVR hadn't recorded the previous two weeks worth of shows. When I finally tried to turn on last night's episode to catch up, I realized that I had nothing recorded to go back on due to the pile-up, so I was only able to catch up to the main event.

The match itself was nothing to write a whole article about. It was as simple as it could be while trying to keep Ethan Carter III out of the ring with Sting. The rest of his team leaving much to be desired for me. Basically, the contest came down to Jeff Hardy taking the heat so he could hit the hot tag to Sting, only for Carter to sneak in and get the roll-up for the win.

Sting and Hardy then took turns on accepting the blame for the loss, but Hardy ended up taking it to heart the hardest. He explained his disdain for the way that Dixie Carter had been running roughshod the past couple months and that fighting her had exhausted him. He said he had no more fight left, and that he was leaving TNA.

It's so disheartening to see talented guys keep falling by the wayside from TNA. I'm not sure of Hardy's current contractual status, but it sounds like he will be back, but he's the second guy they've taken off the show in the last month, the first being AJ Styles. Meanwhile, Sting is still on the show and Magnus is the World Champion.

At this point, I'd even like to see Jerry Jones purchase TNA. He might be an overbearing control freak that would ultimately lead his company into mediocrity, but at least he'd spend some money. The thought that about a year ago we were watching Jesse Godderz start as a reality show star and now we're here with him in the main event really speaks to the state of TNA. Godderz has a great look, but he's still low on the card if I'm booking the show due to his lack of in-ring skills and experience.

In 2013, we have watched some great talent leave TNA: Joey Ryan, Devon, DOC, Mickie James, AJ Styles, and even Hulk Hogan are just a few names that could all be bringing something to the table right now. The only problem is that TNA cannot put together two solid hours of programming a week, so they have a lack of funds coming in to pay their talent.

Now, they've taken one of their top three draws left of the roster off of programming for whatever reason. I feel like every week I actually manage to watch TNA there is something that makes me feel like their day is drawing closer and closer. This week was another point along the downward spiral that seems to be dooming them before our own eyes.