As everyone has seen last night at NXT Takeover: Orlando, Drew Mcintyre was shown ringside right before the main event and he confirmed shortly after that he has signed back with WWE as part of their NXT brand. On the same night, The Hardys dropped the ROH Tag Team Titles at Supercard of Honor about an hour down I-4 in Lakeland. They said their good byes to ROH and everything seems to indicate that they are headed back to WWE and could show up as early as this evening at WrestleMania or tomorrow night on the post-WrestleMania episode of RAW. While these events have been very exciting for a lot of wrestling fans, it can also be bittersweet.
It’s been just over a month since news broke that Drew Galloway, The Hardys, and Miracle Mike Bennett have left the company. This time last year, they suffered big losses as well when Bobby Roode and Eric Young requested and were granted their releases from TNA. While everything seemed to spell doom for the forever-struggling promotion, they still managed to re-invent themselves again and put on some of the most compelling wrestling on TV. Not everybody was a fan of the House Hardy matches but overall they’ve been received positively. TNA had the pieces in place for growth. A great mix of veterans and new stars, and young stars who were able to find new life in their careers. All they needed was the money to back them so there was some stability. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst and everything crumbled around Dixie Carter as we approached the end of the year. The bankruptcy coupled with the issues surrounding the money owed to Billy Corgan had put TNA in familiar territory and they faced certain death. But then the sale happened. Something many people who have given up on TNA had been wishing would happen, finally did. But not without more devastation in its wake.
Anthem Entertainment now owns the company. They’ve brought back Jeff Jarrett who in turn has brought back Bruce Prichard and Dutch Mantell. Most of the foundation of last year’s rebuilt TNA is either gone, or getting pushed aside. Decay hasn’t won in 2017. EC3 hasn’t won in 2017. Eli Drake was ripped away from any major story line and has had nothing to do. He was pinned by some indy tag team that was brought in as part of a working relationship. They signed Alberto El Patron and gave him the world title the same night, and a tap out win over the face of the company in back to back weeks. All of the effort TNA put forth last year to try and create a compelling show following the loss of Bobby Roode, has been imploded within a month. I don’t read spoilers so I don’t know what to expect for the next couple of weeks but if it’s anything like how this last set of tapings has been, then those of us who still watch are in for a long, grueling run. I want to keep having faith but honestly, I just don’t know where Impact goes from here.
Thanks for reading everyone. Be safe and enjoy WrestleMania tonight.
