The Rise & Fall Of TNA | Wrestling Timelines

4. December 5, 2017 | The Scott D’Amore Era Begins

Johnny Impact
ImpactWrestling.com

A period of relative organisational stability begins when Scott D’Amore and Don Callis take over management and creative. John Gaburick, who was handed the thankless task of booking a mess of a company that nobody cared about for a few years, is out. 

Controversy and carny goings-on remain magnetised to Impact Wrestling; at Bound For Glory 2018, Austin Aries torches his reputation by no-selling Johnny Impact’s Starship Pain finisher in the main event. Impact wins the belt, but nobody cares; Austin’s immediate walk-out and visible F-U to management overshadows a decent to very good show.  

Even under new ownership, management, TV station, and creative, Impact is still TNA. Anything good is invariably followed by something bad. The 2018 Latin American Xchange Vs. OGz feud is genuinely excellent, but many people only hear about this without checking it out for themselves because this is Impact Wrestling. How good can it be?

By early 2018, driven by Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks, and the Bullet Club Elite civil war, Ring Of Honor is handily defeating Impact at the live gate. Turns out, worshipping WWE is not the way to go. As BTE demonstrates, the exact opposite is true.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!