The Rise & Fall Of TNA | Wrestling Timelines

16. November 15, 2009 | The Wolfe At The Door

Turning Point 2009 is perhaps the finest TNA pay-per-view ever. 

The undercard is not blow-away great, but the show is actually sensibly paced. The Amazing Red’s win over Homicide is far from the best X-Division match ever, but it functions as an ideal, brisk pay-per-view opener. Tara beats Awesome Kong in a very good match as the Knockouts division continues to establish itself. Team 3D and Rhino beat the rising Pope D’Angelo Dinero, Matt Morgan and Hernandez in a good smoke-and-mirrors brawl. 

In an absolutely tremendous Match Of The Year candidate, new signing Desmond Wolfe, the former Nigel McGuinness, loses to Kurt Angle in a vicious and complex submission labyrinth. It is an awesome display of the exact pro wrestling TNA must deliver in order to differentiate itself from WWE. In the main event, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels produce a worthy sequel to the Unbreakable classic; while it’s not quite as spectacular, the fact that this one is held for the TNA World title* underscores that wrestlers do progress up the card in this company. 

*The NWA relationship was severed in May 2007. 

About the only dud at Turning Point is Scott Steiner’s win over Bobby Lashley, but it doesn’t really matter; Steiner is so inexplicably entertaining in the TV environment, with his unhinged and incoherent ranting, that the promotion develops a raw, inimitable charm whenever he’s onscreen. 

Mirroring the cruel last stand of WCW’s critically acclaimed last couple of months, this golden period doesn’t last. Where WCW died forever, TNA endures an equally grim fate: Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff will soon strut through its doors in executive roles.