11 Ups & 10 Downs For Impact Wrestling In 2020

2. Controlling The Narrative

Slammiversary 2020, a pay-per-view that will be remembered for the ages, and rightfully so. A night that marked the return of Eric Young, Rich Swann, and The Motor City Machine Guns, as well as the debut of The Good Brother and Heath, also saw EC3 make his much-anticipated return to the company that truly put him on the map. Appearing just as the event was going off the air, the former 'One Percenter' seemed to be slotting perfectly back into the main event scene.

Instead, however, he became embroiled in a potentially decent rivalry with Moose over the TNA World Heavyweight Championship that was instead dragged out for months, lost a cinematic encounter at Bound For Glory, and then left the company without leaving much of a footnote.

Yes, 'The Essential Character' fizzled out of Impact Wrestling as quickly as he had returned. Upon returning, his sole intention was to destroy the TNA title in a bid to remove his past history in the company that had brought him to this point. When you think of that, why is he then fine with losing to the defending champion in a marquee showdown? Moose's TNA title saga seemed to be reaching its natural conclusion by this point - surely EC3 was the final nail in the coffin.

We'll talk more about Moose a bit later on because, overall, he's transformed into a totally different character throughout 2020 that has been a delight to watch. This EC3 rivalry is nothing more than a dot in his otherwise impressive year. He didn't need the TNA World Heavyweight Championship after adopting the sometimes sophisticated, sometimes unhinged persona post-Bound For Glory. Having EC3 destroy the belt was a fitting way to remove it from our screens.

Sometimes, the simpler solution is often overlooked. In this case, it really shouldn't have been.