10 Times Impact Wrestling Went Too Far

4. Dix Heads

Velvet Sky
Impact Wrestling

Hulk Hogan’s tumultuous three-year stint in TNA offered little creative satisfaction for the viewers that gamely clung on to the product during his on and off-screen stewardship. Dixie Carter's physical representation of that ironically served as the moment most right-minded audience members simply let go.

There was perhaps no bigger dissonance between the company’s perception of his importance and actual fan interest in his continued presence than when the company boss literally begged on her knees for him to stay with the company in a segment knowingly designed as his sendoff.

Carter had turned heel weeks earlier in a scathing takedown of best-wrestler-in-the-company/world AJ Styles, reducing his value to pittance as part of an unsavoury public contract negotiation. It was a tired retread of the evil authority figure, and factoring Hogan into her plans was top of the agenda until the exact moment ‘The Hulkster’ himself decided otherwise.

Hogan just wasn't all that bothered anymore. Set to depart the company ahead of a vainglorious return to WWE in early 2014, his final segment couldn't have made the organisation, it's supporters and - tacitly - AJ Styles look any more pathetic. The message, intentional or otherwise, was abundantly clear - TNA needed the stars far far more than they needed TNA. Years later, it's a philosophy the group are still gamely trying to shift.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett