10 Times TNA Went Further Than The WWE Attitude Era
3. The Victory Road 2011 Disaster
WWE received widespread, fierce and thoroughly justified criticism for failing to publicise Steve Austin's severe neck injury ahead of Survivor Series 1999.
They knew damn well, over a week removed from the PPV, that Austin could not work it. They had ample time to rewrite the television show without selling the PPV under false pretences, but elected not to do that because Austin was such a massive draw that it would have cost them a packet. Compounding the insult, Big Show replaced Austin, and won the WWF Title, even though it was clear from two desperate turns in under a year that the WWF didn't really care about him as a character.
It was the most antagonistic, f*ck you carny move possible.
Or was it?
At TNA Victory Road 2011, Jeff Hardy, to use the old industry euphemism, was "in no condition to perform". He was inexplicably sent out to perform anyway, in an unspeakably grim non-match against Sting.
In doing so, TNA somehow went further than the worst of WWE's Attitude Era...twice; they exploited an addict and reneged on a main event at the same time.