12 Bad Wrestling Stories That Wasted Great SWERVE Ideas

2. "They"

Regardless of the rhetoric they spewed upon formally debuting for TNA on an infamous January 4th 2010 edition of Impact Wrestling, it was always fairly apparent that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff saw the company as an opportunity to rebuild their own brand rather than that of the company itself. It was equally apparent that they only really had one was of doing that.

Recycling the New World Order was a go-to in the dying World Championship Wrestling before it actually passed on for good. Between the reintroduction and reformation of "The Band" with Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall (before the latter pair's personal problems got the better of them) and Aces & Eights' mystery-laden attempted takeover of TNA, Hogan and Bischoff tried it three times in less than three years. The teasing of "They" for Bound For Glory 2010 was the biggest swing of the lot, and was - what else? - comfortably the biggest miss.

In the summer of 2010, Abyss started mentioning that "They" were coming during promo exchanges with Hulk Hogan. The two were mates before 'The Monster' appeared to crack under the strain of hearing the voices, but the 10.10.10 date of the TNA's biggest show of the year became the destination of the big reveal. Meanwhile, Hogan and Bischoff were babyfaces, but old rivals Sting and Kevin Nash didn't buy it, and - as situational heels - were sure that a big plan was brewing from the two old friends.

They were right, but the biggest swerve was saved for the the grand reveal. At Bound For Glory, after Jeff Jarrett had screwed over storyline pawn Samoa Joe on the undercard, Jeff Hardy became TNA Champion thanks to the help of Abyss, Jarrett, Hogan and Bischoff, turning heel as a top singles star for the first time in his career.

It kickstarted yet another "we're takin' over" story led not by the wrestlers but by the familiar figureheads, and this was compounded when Hardy had to depart screens after the events of Victory Road 2011 a few months later. By this time, the new "Immortal" group had merged and split with another stable, taken on new members, lost a few, and were mostly just bedded in to the average episode of Impact rather than changing everything about it.

Sound familiar?