Joseph Park – Hit
Abyss – Miss
I forgot how long this Joseph Park and Abyss angle has been going on for, but earlier today I watched Slammiversary 2012 and was reminded. An entire year has passed with TNA teasing the most obvious reveal in the history of pro wrestling – if you don’t know, they’re the SAME PERSON.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Joe Park character. Not only is he a Chicago native, but after a long tenure with TNA and Impact Wrestling, it’s really nice to see a new chapter in the Monster’s career. I think it shows incredible depth that he pulls off the bumbling lawyer character with such ease and perfection. The reason I listed the two personas separately is that, while I love Park, and have enjoyed the last few weeks since the “return” of Abyss, the whole thing has stretched on for way too long.
I would have simply waited until this month to even tease the reveal of Abyss. I wouldn’t have done the occasional blood spot, on and off for an entire year. We all know already – you’re not fooling anyone, and nobody is surprised when the Monster peaks his head out. Keep it simple.
Jeff Hardy – Mostly a Hit
Jeff Hardy has had an incredible year with TNA, with a few misses mixed in for good measure. The entire “road to redemption” angle was straight-forward, brought some drama to the Bound for Glory series, and told a good story. There’s always a heaviness and added bit of excitement added to a program when there’s a lining of truth to the whole thing. Hardy made some mistakes, but he paid for them, came back healthy, and worked his way back to the World title.
Hardy isn’t my favorite – I tend to enjoy great mic workers more – but he’s a phenomenal athlete. His matches with Austin Aries and Bully Ray in the last year were some of my favorites. So in that respect, he’s had one hell of a year. Easily the best work of his TNA career, and I think it’s just great that he gets time to take off, work on his music and art, and make sure his body doesn’t wear down too much from all his insane bumps.
The foil, at least for me and a lot of other fans, came during TNA’s tour of the UK this January. It is pretty unacceptable to me to not have your World Champion, on a World Tour. More than that, they taped an entire month of Impact Wrestling programming…without Jeff Hardy. So not only did the great UK fans get cheated out of seeing title matches, but the fans at home didn’t even get to see their hero leading up to one of the four pay-per-view events of the year. Unacceptable.
Check back for PART 3 of this three-part feature tomorrow before TNA Slammiversary.
