A Chaotic Theory #18: Things Are Looking Up For TNA

Over the last year, fans of the TNA brand have watched dramatic changes take place systematically and sometimes unseemly. I, for one, have been TNA’s harshest critic when it came to the changes, not always happily ready to accept most decisions, but a faithful fan still yet. The choices that had to be made were choices that had to be made to save the brand as a whole. Now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled, TNA has started its march up the ladder once again and has brought some pretty nifty new plans to the professional wrestling table. With Dixie’s new “heeltastic” outlook, her war with AJ Styles and the launch of “Impact 365”, they have fans all over the world foaming with curiosity. TNA is shifting gears and focusing on talent development and creating captivating storylines for fans to enjoy. TNA has sure seen its fair share of troubles, but it may seem that the light at the end of this dark abysmal tunnel, is now starting to shine.

Dixie Carter has found her new niche as the boss from Hades and she is has taken a liking to her new role. This is something that I have hoped for quite some time now. Her turn as a heel solidified the epic battle between employer vs. employee, a storyline that catapulted Steve Austin into stardom within the universe that is the WWE. Dixie has made it her own personal mission to take the “ungrateful” AJ Styles out of the equation and away from the TNA brand. She has made an impact on iMPACT Wrestling that it has duly deserved for a long time. Her new “attitude” has made her refuse the idea of AJ holding the TNA World Title, which he won from Bully Ray fair and square and has mandated that there be a “true” TNA World Champion crowned through a new tournament set up by Dixie herself. The new change that has engulfed our beloved President is nothing less than magnificent. She is demonstrating to the world that she is flexible and can wear as many hats as it takes to run a business successfully.

The AJ Styles storyline has become a focal point or iMPACT Wrestling television programming. Although we may not see too much of AJ, just the occasional ad “that has been paid for by the friends of AJ”, where we see Styles landing all over the globe to defend the TNA World Title. AJ says that he can’t be a world champion without defending it all around the world and that’s what he plans on doing. The run of “AJ going International” storyline is brilliant by the creative department of TNA and I don’t say that too often. The mere fact that it blends in with the efforts being displayed by the “Dixie Carter is a heel” storyline so well, it leaves the audience begging for more. We are witnessing new conduct of our sweet President, Ms. Dixie Carter, that has fans hissing and the internet buzzing, which exactly what TNA needs right now. The hatred that she spews about AJ is astonishing at best. When the internet wrestling community screamed at her to re-sign the great AJ Styles, her animosity grew and she just couldn’t contain the b*tch any further. Instead of re-signing Mr. Styles, as so many had insisted upon, she decided to let him go, further implementing her motto “This is not the house that AJ built, this is the house that Dixie built”.

TNA is not just starting to perform better in front of the camera. They have also taken new measures to up their game behind the scenes as well. The new Impact 365 gives viewers a chance to see what happens when the iMPACT Wrestling television cameras go off, 24 hours a day. I think the idea of Impact 365 is crazy sick. To have the opportunity to watch what happens in the lives of some of our favorite TNA Superstars is insane. I’m not a moron, I know a lot of what we will see will have some sort of scripted format, but it will give us fans a chance to see more TNA than just a couple hours a week if nothing else. A sample of Impact 365 has recently been re-broadcasted on iMPACT Wrestling where it gives the audience a chance to see Bobby Roode sneak attack James Storm in a bar and beat him like a stepchild, it was amazing. Yeah, it could have been set up better, not so, what’s the word I am looking for? Corny! Beyond them hoping that the audience actually believed that it was a real sneak attack, the beating was well worth the watch and Impact 365 has potential for greatness.

As you know whenever things change within any wrestling franchise or brand, opinions are to be had by everyone with a mouth and almost everything is subjective. You either like it or you don’t. Folks who say that this is just another ploy by TNA to stay afloat, I say good for them, great ingenuity. People have said that fans don’t want to see what happens behind the curtain, they want to see a great show and then go home. Who cares about the performer’s personal life? I say to them, we are a world engulfed in the personal lives of our favorite stars or performers. For years we have engorged ourselves on tabloid magazines and television shows that highlight the personal affairs of the lives lived in the limelight. The majority of society eats that stuff up, that is why you see it everywhere you go. TNA decided to cash in on this money cow known as tabloids and bring it to professional wrestling. Think of it as a scripted reality show.

Like it or love it folks, times are changing and TNA is moving forward after their hard thought decisions. They are making the best of a necessary situation. And it seems they are bringing their A game to the table. I have to say, I am impressed! The turn around may not have been instantaneous, and their just in the early stages of a bigger picture but it may seem like TNA will pull through. I have to be honest with all of you reading this. I truly did not think that TNA would ever recover from what was going on internally, as none of us truly had a real understanding, just speculations on what was going on behind the scenes at home office. All I knew, whatever it was behind the scenes, it was the same thing making its presence felt in front of the cameras. As a fan, I will always have the strongest critiques because I only want them to succeed. As a fan, I depend upon the people I have trusted for so long to make the right decisions for the company, to guide it upward. As a fan, I have the right to be pissed off when I see that things aren’t going right, when I feel like they are so much better that what they are doing. Today, I am just happy to be a fan. But then again that’s just My Chaotic Theory….