The State of TNA Address

Written by: Tie Up Wrestling

So, with all the talk of a WWE State of Address going on a few weeks ago, I thought that it would be an interesting idea to address the TNA locker room and give my thoughts on the company. So let's start at the top of the company (show wise) with Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan

I personally like the idea of Hogan being the General Manager of TNA; with the reason being that Hogan has a massive, storied history with wrestling. Take AJ Lee, who WWE recently removed as Raw GM, and let’s look at her history in comparison. She was on a TV show called WWE NXT and lost, (anyone remember who actually won?); she then disappeared for a little while before returning as ???? 's on screen friend.

Now let’s look at Hogans’ past. He came through the wrestling business the 'hard way' becoming multi time World Champion in many different organisations as he went. As much as he does not need to be in the ring these days, I fully understand TNA's decision to put him there. He, for a lot of wrestling fans, sums up everything that they used to love about wrestling. I personally grew up watching Hogan and have a massive amount of respect for the dude. He is the perfect choice for a General Manager in my opinion; he just needs to learn that he is no longer needed in the ring and should just cut promos.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship

I feel that the TNA title means a lot more than the WWE title does at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, CM Punk has done a lot to make the WWE title actually mean something instead of just being a prop, but TNA have been doing this for much, much longer. Just look at the last 5 World Champs, Kurt Angle, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and Jeff Hardy. Look at WWE's last few champs John Cena... CM Punk... Back to Cena... Back to Punk (you get the idea).

I know that a lot of people will disagree here, but I also think that it's the right idea to have Jeff Hardy as the champion right now. Granted that it is probably mainly due to his extracurricular activities, but he is over possibly more now than he has ever been. In the great scheme of things, it doesn't matter why you are over; all that matters is that you are over. As they say, any press is good press.

Babyfaces

TNA's top babyface at the moment, in my eyes anyway, has to be Jeff Hardy. He's the current TNA World Champion and TNA has put a lot of time and effort into building him up. He has achieved exactly what he set out to do when he returned to TNA. TNA has even paid for him to have a custom built World Title belt, that’s how much faith they have in him.

Next in line we have "The Cowboy" James Storm. He's come a long way in TNA and I believe that Storm is now on the same pedestal as AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, and deserves every second of the spotlight he gets. He's been a part of arguably 2 of TNA's greatest tag teams, America's Most Wanted and Beer Money. In their own time they were both at the top of the Tag Team Division and both are multi time Tag Team Champions.

Storm has most recently been involved in one of wrestling’s most epic feuds with his former tag team partner Bobby Roode (more about him soon) and is just going from strength to strength. I believe that he will soon hold the infamous TNA World Championship again.

Samoa Joe. What can be said about Joe? I know that he's supposed to be a heel at the moment, but he's at a stage where if he came out and slapped Dixie Carter he would still be cheered. The man is truly a legend. He's the current TNA TV Champion and is happy to take on anyone. He's been with the company a really long time and I don't remember any point where he hasn't been one of the number one guys. True he isn't always in the World Title picture, but he is respected so much by the locker room and fans alike.

Heels

Let's look at some of TNA's top heels. First and foremost we have Bobby Roode. In the last 12 months I don't think that anyone in wrestling has done a better job of telling a story than he has. The breakup of Beer Money has been epic. Every single moment has been thought of and planned meticulously, and if anyone needs a reason to believe in the writing staff at TNA then this feud alone is evidence that TNA are on to a winner. With Roode and Storm they have started a Flair vs. Sting, Michaels vs. Hart or Styles vs. Daniels.

Impact Wrestling

Last but not least is the actual product. I watch Impact Wrestling every single week without fail. It is a must watch programme in my household. We watch it that much that my 17 month old son can say "Sting" he chants "Joe, Joe, Joe" and can do the RVD arm movements. If I miss an episode of Impact it's like my left arm has been cut off (yes, I'm a lefty). Going live has improved the product so much that I'm a little worried that when they do finally go back to pre-taped shows the quality will dip. But, in saying that, I have full confidence in Dixie Carter and Dave Lagana.

Comparing Impact to Raw, I now haven't seen a full episode of Raw (I mean paid attention to it from start to finish, no playing on my phone or anything) for very close to a year. It's just the most predictable programme on TV for me. The only thing on Raw that makes me put my phone down is CM Punk. Even with good ol' JR back on commentary the product still feels stale.

Well I could go on, but I’ll save that for another post. In the meanwhile I’d love to hear your views on  TNA and WWE.

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