Thoughts on TNA's Hall of "Shame"
TNA announced the first inductee to their Hall of Fame at Slammiversary and it was Sting. No sleight to Sting but he was the only one announced. Both Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles, one could argue, deserved to be a part of the initial class. But the omission of Jarrett is a bad call that cheapens what already looks low-rent. It’s like the WNBA having a Hall of Fame. The WWE doesn’t make mistakes like this.
You get one chance to do the “first” anything right. At the end of the day, life doesn’t change for anyone because they didn’t induct Jeff Jarrett but did politics affect the outcome and as a result, put a negative on what should have been only a positive? Did Hogan and Bischoff, as reported elsewhere, wield their power to put the boots to Jarrett?
If they didn’t want Jeff Jarrett to be in the Hall of Fame, why have it in the first place? Sting didn’t need the Hall of Fame rub but it defies logic. If you book a Hall of Fame for TNA, obviously Jeff Jarrett needs to be in it. He and his dad founded the company! So, if you induct him, fine. If you don’t, it cheapens Sting’s induction. It cheapens every other induction until Jarrett gets in.
Unless for some unknown reason, Jeff Jarrett was told he would be an inductee and had some unrealistic expectations or demands, this was a bad job by TNA. If TNA decided not to put Jarrett in because he was asking too much, then scrap the whole idea. The negative outweighs the positive.
If it’s an angle, it’s a crappy one because it only hurts the future of the TNA Hall of Fame franchise, which can be a nice event that fans will pay to get into for years to come. Future Hall of Fame ceremonies will add more to the bottom line than a short-term angle with a 45 year old wrestler who is persona non grata in the company he helped found.
While some things change, others stay the same.
What’s the future of Randy Orton? TNA/HOF thoughts? Chime in on Twitter @RealKevinKelly. Use hashtag #KKWZ.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
