The creative side of TNA aka impact wrestling It had many misfires throughout the year which led to many disappointments. TNA’s desire to compete with WWE never worked out to become a second major promotion with the reach of WCW in the past or AEW in the future. Impact Wrestling still lives on today with a strong product, but the past often haunts them.
There have been quite a few interesting cases where TNA has glaring flaws in some storylines or concepts that missed the mark. Most of these moments featured talented names trying to make a bad situation work with creative flaws exposed. The following TNA flashbacks feature plot holes that hurt ideas.
10 Taz’s association with Samoa Joe
TNA featured Taz in an effective storyline as Samoa Joe’s mysterious mentor. Joe hinted at having an unknown adviser for weeks that would be revealed as Taz. Many fans compared the two for years to Joe’s character in TNA mirroring Taz’s ECW work.
The story made sense at first, but fell apart when Joe joined the Main Event Mafia as a shocking twist. Taz managed Joe for a while in the group, but his role felt counterproductive with Joe following the mob fighters. TNA broke them up by having Taz come on for comment and trying to break away from his association with Joe.
9 Christy Hemme skips the show to watch the stalking of Samuel Shaw
The trope of wrestlers not watching the show realizing they are being manipulated by others can be negative from many angles, but it was especially true for Christy Hemme with Samuel Shaw. TNA featured Shaw in a bizarre storyline with Hemme after he won a Gut Check contract.
The segments showed Shaw doing extremely creepy things when Hemme wasn’t looking that were caught on camera. Christy wasted months before realizing that Shaw had been stalking her all the time since the initial interview.
8 the orlando screw
TNA attempted to copy the Montreal Screwjob several times after hiring Earl Hebner to be one of their main referees. One of them was even called the Orlando Screwjob when Hebner rang the bell to trick Kurt Angle out of the TNA World Championship against AJ Styles.
Angle even attacked Hulk Hogan afterwards to mimic what Bret Hart did to Vince McMahon. TNA explained it through the logic of Hebner admitting that he cheated on Angle because Ric Flair and Styles paid him. However, the plot hole grew when Hogan rehired Hebner claiming that he learned his lesson.
7 Scott Steiner claims he beat everyone in WWE
Scott Steiner was in the early part of the names joining TNA right after a WWE career ended. Steiner’s badass character got a perfect introduction as Jeff Jarrett’s enforcer who got into feuds with Sting, Kurt Angle, and Christian Cage.
A show between Steiner and Angle featured Big Poppa Pump bragging a bit more than was logically expected. Steiner claimed that he had beaten everyone in WWE and that Angle was on the short list of names he had to beat. Reality recalls that Steiner’s run in WWE only lasted for about two months with few shocking wins.
6 Black Reign’s Backstory
The addition of Dustin Rhodes to TNA gave them a respected legend with great success in WWE. The Goldust persona was so successful that Dustin fought his way out of WWE after his return to WCW and several stints in TNA.
Black Reign was the gimmick during Rhodes’ final TNA run intended to be a dark version of Goldust. There was no explanation for the character nor was there a backstory. Fans had to believe that Dustin had just walked into the darkest place in his mind with a darker look and a pet rat.
5 Fortune joining immortal
TNA booked a big time forming Immortal as the new powerhouse faction after Jeff Hardy and Hulk Hogan turned rude. Immortal was instantly pushed as TNA’s top act, but they had a weird moment on their first episode of Impact with the other group Fortune.
Ric Flair leading his modern version of Fortune with stars like AJ Styles and Beer Money felt like a perfect match for Immortal. Instead, TNA immediately had them team up with Hogan and Flair making amends. There was no real logic behind merging them, especially at the beginning of Immortal.
4 Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson join the factions
Bellator, by becoming a large part of Spike TV, created a working relationship with TNA Wrestling. A pair of high-profile MMA stars placed themselves in a TNA ad to sell their rivalry. Rampage Jackson was placed with the reunited Main Event Mafia babyface as a friend of Kurt Angle.
TNA posted weeks of vignettes for the infamous August 1 Warning debut with fans expecting a huge wrestling star. Another MMA fighter was placed here with Tito Ortiz joining Aces & Eights. TNA teased a match between Ortiz and Jackson, but they eventually disappeared to return to their MMA careers without a payoff.
3 Dixie Carter begging Hulk Hogan to stay
Hulk Hogan’s experiment in having a prominent role in TNA on screen and backstage was seen as a disappointment. TNA’s desire to truly compete with WWE never happened, as Hogan’s bold moves usually backfired.
Hogan’s last TNA moment created even more negative press for the company when he had a promotional exchange with Dixie Carter. Hogan’s departure featured Carter begging her to stay and dropping to his knees to grab her ankles as she walked away from her. There was no reason for this and no reward as Hogan never came back.
2 Mickie James confides in James Storm as she fights with her husband
The infamous segment of James Storm throwing Mickie James onto the train tracks was part of her biggest feud with her husband Magnus. TNA tried to tell the story that Mickie and Storm had a close relationship that existed outside of the feud with Magnus.
However, James seemed to trust his old friend too much after he made strong threats towards her husband. The foolish decision to spend personal time with the now sadistic Storm ended with her nearly paying for it with her life.
1 Rob Van Dam leaves the TNA championship and returns early
One of the weirder TNA storylines featured Rob Van Dam vacating the TNA World Championship due to a kayfabe injury. Abyss’ brutal attack on Van Dam forced him to relinquish the belt and stage a lengthy tournament to crown a new champion.
RVD returned the same night as Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson vying for gold. It didn’t make logical sense to crown a new champion hours after the previous champion who never lost him returned. TNA had so many plot holes in this whole illogical storyline.