If you could write a eulogy for "TNA"...

[hb2k]

So, for this week's podcast, we will be doing our Death of "TNA" show, talking about the fifteen years provided under the banner of Total Nonstop Action.

For this monumental occasion, we would like you to write your personal "Eulogy" for the TNA brand name - thoughts on their proudest moments perhaps, a personal experience, or just your general opinion on the trials and tribulations of the company and where it stands in the history of wrestling. Either way, we're looking for a sense of closure as the Jarrett-led GFW begins anew, so what are your final thoughts on the 15 years of TNA?

As always, the best contributions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly!

EDIT - The show discussing the Death of "TNA", featuring many of your contributions, is now available at the following link: https://squaredcirclegazette.podbean...ath_of_TNA.mp3

[Mr. Nerfect]

We are gathered here today, as wrestling fans, to, well, maybe not mourn, but acknowledge into passing the entity known at Total Nonstop Action. That's right -- "TNA" Wrestling. Hold your laughter. Oh, no one was laughing. Alright then, let me continue.

As wrestling fans, we like to root for an underdog. When Jeff Jarrett decided to start his own wrestling promotion in 2002, there was a stir. We needed something else. Triple H was just about to declare himself a World Heavyweight Champion and reign for three years. Luckily we had Jeff to...declare himself a World Heavyweight Champion and reign for three years. Shit.

After a lot of ups and downs, in 2006, Kurt Angle was announced as the newest member of TNA's roster. It felt like the dawning of a new day. Arguably the greatest wrestler in the world was going to be in TNA. It was followed up by news that same week that Vince Russo had been re-signed to the company. Fuck. Those two polar extremes -- Kurt Angle and Vince Russo being signed in the same week -- summarize quite poetically the dance TNA would constantly do. It wasn't one step forward, two steps back -- it was more like one step forward into a moving train: The Mickie James.

Vince Russo would be blasted for many of TNA's worst moments. But can we really know for sure that it was him behind things like James Mitchell being revealed as Abyss' father? Or was he both? Or even...all three? Swerve! There's no evidence to link Russo to these things. Not definitively. Correlation isn't causation. After all, when the crowd chanted "Fire Russo!" during that Last Rites Match, Dixie Carter came out and said "Actually, it wasn't Vince Russo who wrote that." Which in no way addresses the fans' point that it was an atrocity, but you can't blame Russo, dammit!

I know that just saying his name so many times might get blood boiling, and encourage some people to take the mic. Fingers crossed. But it is hard to separate a man who had a strong hand in helping kill two internationally exposed companies with his inane ideas, car-crash booking, and talent-burying ideas. When ideas in TNA worked -- like Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage, the TNA Knockouts or...well, I'm struggling to think of a third -- Vince Russo would have to get in there to make sure it didn't outshine the core product he was inflicting upon everybody else.

Many of us who knew TNA personally would say our relationship with it was "complicated," but out of TNA's chaos, a few positives did arise. Remember when TNA had AJ Styles do a terrible Ric Flair impression? No, I'm not talking about Jay Lethal's impression; I'm talking about AJ Styles doing a Ric Flair impression. Remember Claire Lynch? Remember Samoa Joe being kidnapped by ninjas (or well-meaning stag-doers)? TNA took many talented individuals from the independent wrestling scene and drew phallic symbols on their faces, either figuratively or literally. But ultimately, can't we all agree that this made them better overall performers? You might not be able to polish a turd, but you can certainly polish talent by dragging it through turds. Surely it can't have just been a waste of the time and abilities of those involved? At least we got that Three-Way at Unbreakable.

So today we say goodbye to a promotion that finally had the courtesy to die. We all knew the day was coming, and we all felt awkward saying it, because we're all supposed to really love wrestling. We're supposed to want to see it succeed. But at some point that goodwill was betrayed. Deep down we all knew that the talent would find jobs elsewhere, and that TNA would taint anyone associated it, after a certain point, with the brush of irrelevancy. Well, I may have been slightly disingenuous there. I didn't really mean to specify "after a certain point." When your goodwill towards a wrestling promotion becomes replaced with bemused frustration at its refusal to die, you know it might be a bit hard to make a hot comeback.

The most honest thing I could say about TNA is that if it were an artist depicting flowers, it couldn't paint bloom on the rose. It's off to Room 101 with ya. Thanks for all the Worst Gimmick Match suggestions and for none of the Desert Island Duels submisisons. To invoke Loss from Pro Wrestling Only on the 9th edition of Squared Circle Gazette Radio: "I think 2002-2014 was a real low point for the company." It wouldn't get any better.

Sometimes, in moments of loss, no matter how bittersweet or, frankly, joyous that loss might be, it helps to remember a funny memory. Remember when Jeff and Jerry Jarrett had a massive falling out over Vladimir Kozlov? I hope that was worth breaking up a family over.

Oh, and fuck the Broken Hardys.

[Ruien]

RIP Kurt Angles wrestling career.

[Rammsteinmad]

Lots of great potential ruined by lots of shitty execution. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

R.I.P. WCW Version 2.0

[JimmyMess]

only if its presented by:

[Curtis]

"That's Bankruptcy, but what is it doing in the IMPACT ZONE?"

[Shisen Kopf]

LOL

[Shisen Kopf]

Originally Posted by Noid We are gathered here today, as wrestling fans, to, well, maybe not mourn, but acknowledge into passing the entity known at Total Nonstop Action. That's right -- "TNA" Wrestling. Hold your laughter. Oh, no one was laughing. Alright then, let me continue. As wrestling fans, we like to root for an underdog. When Jeff Jarrett decided to start his own wrestling promotion in 2002, there was a stir. We needed something else. Triple H was just about to declare himself a World Heavyweight Champion and reign for three years. Luckily we had Jeff to...declare himself a World Heavyweight Champion and reign for three years. Shit. After a lot of ups and downs, in 2006, Kurt Angle was announced as the newest member of TNA's roster. It felt like the dawning of a new day. Arguably the greatest wrestler in the world was going to be in TNA. It was followed up by news that same week that Vince Russo had been re-signed to the company. Fuck. Those two polar extremes -- Kurt Angle and Vince Russo being signed in the same week -- summarize quite poetically the dance TNA would constantly do. It wasn't one step forward, two steps back -- it was more like one step forward into a moving train: The Mickie James. Vince Russo would be blasted for many of TNA's worst moments. But can we really know for sure that it was him behind things like James Mitchell being revealed as Abyss' father? Or was he both? Or even...all three? Swerve! There's no evidence to link Russo to these things. Not definitively. Correlation isn't causation. After all, when the crowd chanted "Fire Russo!" during that Last Rites Match, Dixie Carter came out and said "Actually, it wasn't Vince Russo who wrote that." Which in no way addresses the fans' point that it was an atrocity, but you can't blame Russo, dammit! I know that just saying his name so many times might get blood boiling, and encourage some people to take the mic. Fingers crossed. But it is hard to separate a man who had a strong hand in helping kill two internationally exposed companies with his inane ideas, car-crash booking, and talent-burying ideas. When ideas in TNA worked -- like Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage, the TNA Knockouts or...well, I'm struggling to think of a third -- Vince Russo would have to get in there to make sure it didn't outshine the core product he was inflicting upon everybody else. Many of us who knew TNA personally would say our relationship with it was "complicated," but out of TNA's chaos, a few positives did arise. Remember when TNA had AJ Styles do a terrible Ric Flair impression? No, I'm not talking about Jay Lethal's impression; I'm talking about AJ Styles doing a Ric Flair impression. Remember Claire Lynch? Remember Samoa Joe being kidnapped by ninjas (or well-meaning stag-doers)? TNA took many talented individuals from the independent wrestling scene and drew phallic symbols on their faces, either figuratively or literally. But ultimately, can't we all agree that this made them better overall performers? You might not be able to polish a turd, but you can certainly polish talent by dragging it through turds. Surely it can't have just been a waste of the time and abilities of those involved? At least we got that Three-Way at Unbreakable. So today we say goodbye to a promotion that finally had the courtesy to die. We all knew the day was coming, and we all felt awkward saying it, because we're all supposed to really love wrestling. We're supposed to want to see it succeed. But at some point that goodwill was betrayed. Deep down we all knew that the talent would find jobs elsewhere, and that TNA would taint anyone associated it, after a certain point, with the brush of irrelevancy. Well, I may have been slightly disingenuous there. I didn't really mean to specify "after a certain point." When your goodwill towards a wrestling promotion becomes replaced with bemused frustration at its refusal to die, you know it might be a bit hard to make a hot comeback. The most honest thing I could say about TNA is that if it were an artist depicting flowers, it couldn't paint bloom on the rose. It's off to Room 101 with ya. Thanks for all the Worst Gimmick Match suggestions and for none of the Desert Island Duels submisisons. To invoke Loss from Pro Wrestling Only on the 9th edition of Squared Circle Gazette Radio: "I think 2002-2014 was a real low point for the company." It wouldn't get any better. Sometimes, in moments of loss, no matter how bittersweet or, frankly, joyous that loss might be, it helps to remember a funny memory. Remember when Jeff and Jerry Jarrett had a massive falling out over Vladimir Kozlov? I hope that was worth breaking up a family over. Oh, and fuck the Broken Hardys.

[The MAC]

A tribute act to WCW. Thank you for the LOLz

[Mr. Nerfect]

Just to clarify, I didn't forget Hogan/Bischoff in my eulogy, but if Hogan spoke at the funeral, he probably wouldn't even mention TNA.

[drave]

LOLTNA. RIP.

[Outsider]

Eulogies are about looking at the positives, not the negatives. Sometimes you struggle to make the five minutes you were asked to deliver as a result, but that is the brief.

When TNA started we were in a world where really there was only one company left standing, and that last company was starting to prove already that it understood it didn't need to try any more.

TNA offered an alternative. It wasn't always a good alternative, but it was at least there. In some of the WWEs worst days it was needed. Does anyone remember when WWE started having 'topical' matches in 2008? When the crowd were so pissed off they chanted for VKM instead? (The name the New Age Outlaws were going by in TNA at the time). Exhibit A.

TNA at one pointed offered a real alternative for some who felt their WWE careers had fizzled out or who the WWE at least had felt there was no place for. Christian, RVD, Booker T and Kurt Angle kept their careers going to an extent they were still able to go back to the WWE eventually.

TNA also gave us some great stars. Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode and many more. But also a stage for many more we forget had a TNA run first such as Xavier Woods who gained exposure and honed their skills in front of a TV audience (albeit low).

But importantly TNA gave many people jobs. Wrestlers, on camera talent, camera men, production staff, writers and guys/girls who cleaned the arenas afterwards. Any company that is no longer able to do that is a loss, regardless of whether that loss is deserved by shitty booking decisions or not.

Goodbye TNA. You filled a much needed void. You filled it quite badly, but at least on occassion you tried. A bit.

[hb2k]

Just wanted to thank everybody for the contributions - the show looking at the Death of "TNA" is now available at the following link:

https://squaredcirclegazette.podbean...ath_of_TNA.mp3

Join us as we discuss all things Total Nonstop Action for it's fifteen years of existence. Talking about great talent, horrible angles, worst WWE-retread hirings, terrible gimmick matches, glory eras, missed opportunities, moments where TNA had momentum then tripped up and more. In addition, we take your "eulogies", ranging from delightful poems to thoughtful analysis, to one-liners to appear on the tombstone, a barrage of tremendous takes from the loyal listeners A really fun show this week, check it out and let us know what you think!

[owenbrown]