11 Wrestlers TNA Completely Dropped The Ball With
Could these men (and women) have made a difference to the beleaguered company?
When all is said and done and the final nail has been drilled into the coffin of TNA, the obituaries will make for interesting reading.
No company in recent memory seems to have been subjected to such overwhelming negative press, and having watched Impact for a decade now I can't really argue with a lot of it.
Even so, for a short while at the end of the last decade TNA provided a genuine alternative to World Wrestling Entertainment when it came to North American wrestling. It had a fantastic roster, separate well-defined divisions and truly exciting in-ring action.
Unfortunately, the promotion also had a tendency to snap up released WWE talent and past superstars that were way beyond their best.
Throughout its tenure, TNA has had countless wrestlers on its hands that could have made a true difference. Either by committing to getting behind them or by treating them differently, a core roster could have emerged that would have continue TNA on its positive path, as opposed to the product we find today.
This didn't happen though, and TNA has become synonymous with all that is bad about professional wrestling. Still, for every Pacman Jones there has been a Matt Morgan, for every Val Venis an Alex Shelley.
Here are 11 wrestlers TNA completely dropped the ball with.
11. Joey Ryan
Okay, so Joey Ryan was never going to be the man to lead TNA into a brave, new world, but he is a shining example of TNA coming across something good and then just having no idea what to do with it.
TNA's Gut Check Challenge made its return to TV in 2012, and numerous independent talents had tryouts in the hope of gaining a TNA contract. Only two such individuals stick out from this time, one of whom is Taeler Hendrix (obviously). The other is Joey Ryan.
In many ways the whole thing seemed to designed to bring Ryan into the company, and for a little while it worked. Ryan's attempts to hijack the show were great TV, and Ryan was building considerable traction as a performer.
He eventually got his contract, defeating Al Snow at Bound for Glory thanks to some help from Matt Morgan (more on him later).
From there on, Ryan seemingly ticked a couple of title shot boxes and was gone by summer 2013. A waste of a hot angle and a popular, diverse talent.