Current And Former TNA Stars Talk State Of TNA, When Downturn Happened, GFW, Dixie Carter, More

Thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader Travis Akers @travisakers for sending in this report and the photo above from this past weekend's Ringside Salute Tour in Bahrain. Akers spent around two hours with several wrestlers during the afternoon, providing a tour of his base and aircraft and another two hours last night during a small Q&A session for fans and following the session with just himself. Akers sent us this great report:

Advertisement

Chris Melendez has had two dreams since he was a kid: to serve his country on the front lines and become a professional wrestler.

Impossibility never crossed his mind, even after an IED took most of his left leg in Baghdad's Sadr City in 2006. The 4th Infantry Division soldier tackled rehabilitation with unusual resolve, walking within 40 days and leaving the hospital in eight months. Now, fitted with a prosthetic, Melendez, 28, has taken his talents to the squared circle. Following months of intensive training from professional wrestling legends, Bully Ray and Devon Dudley (Team 3-D), he signed a multi-year wrestling contract last June and made his television debut Sept. 10, 2014 with TNA Impact Wrestling.

Advertisement

I was extremely honored to meet Chris today and I was fortunate enough to spend a couple of hours with him this afternoon while visiting troops deployed to the Middle East. His story is one of inspiration and dedication not only to his country, but to himself and his dreams.

I had the opportunity to speak to Chris while giving him and several other stars of the Armed Forces Entertainment Presents: Ringside Salute, a tour of my aircraft and later following a meet and greet with the troops. The tour, featuring Austin Aires, Ken Anderson (Mr. Anderson), Shane "Hurricane" Helms, and Thea Trinidad, was the brain-child of comedian Jonny Loquasto, host of the Wrestling Compadres podcast with Booker T. Jonny had performed on overseas tours before with Armed Forces Entertainment. After discussions with Ken Anderson, he reached out to several stars, who excitedly accepted the invitation to travel to the Middle East and visit with troops who were deployed, thus kicking off the first ever Ringside Salute, an event he hopes to become an annual tradition.

I shared with Chris my memory of him standing in the middle of the ring in front of a live TNA audience during television tapings and being offered free training from Bully Ray and Devon Dudley. For me as a fan, that was an inspirational moment. For me a service member, that was a victory for those who have returned injured and either missing parts of their body or parts of their soul. I asked Melendez, as either a fan or a wrestler, what was the most inspirational moment that he can remember?

Advertisement

Chris recounted a day that none of us will ever remove from our minds, 9/11. His father worked just a couple of blocks away from the World Trade Center and the day the towers were struck and fell to the earth, taking thousands of lives with them, Chris decided in that moment he was joining the Army and taking the fight to those who brought the fight to us. His father returned home that afternoon, a day Chris had decided to skip his high school classes, covered in ashes and dust, appearing unrecognizable and ghost-like. He still reflects on that memory as the catalyst for enlisting and capitalized on his emotions to propel him through the intensive training he would receive in Army Boot Camp and following years later, in wrestling training with the Dudleys.

The others stars took turns answering my question. Responses ranged from Hurricane remembering Wrestlemania III and the match between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat to Austin Aires' appreciation of pure wrestling from territorial stars of the south and midwest.

Shane Helms said the pace of the Savage/Steamboat match and the non-stop action was a stark contrast to the slow-developed matches traditionally fought in the ring. Helms claims this match was his inspiration to adopt his style of professional wrestling and he knew that he wanted his performances to always have excitement, providing fans a thrill from the opening bell to the closing pin.

Advertisement

Following the serious conversation and questions, I decided to take the opportunity to ask each wrestler more poignant questions, specifically in regards to the state of TNA, their thoughts on Jeff Jarret's GFW, and the WWE's Divas revolution.

I was quite surprised to receive very candid and honest replies from each superstar when I asked about the state of TNA and their relationships with Dixie Carter. It is very clear that the TNA locker room has an extremely rocky relationship with Dixie and trust between the roster and the their boss died years ago. The saving grace of their working status with the company lies in their ability to self-contract with other promotions and being able to work independent dates throughout the month, which typically only features 3 or 4 working days with TNA. Pay checks are frequently delayed, a report we have all read numerous times from production crew members, and the move of TNA from Spike to Destination America was a very poor business decision, a belief held by almost every member of the Impact roster according to members of the Ringside Salute tour.

I explained to Ken and Austin, I do not receive Destination America with my current cable package back home and in order to watch Impact tapings and remain current with storylines while on deployment, I have to rely on internet streams and reports from wrestling sites such as Wrestling Inc. Currently the WWE distributes Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and all PPVs through AFN, allowing service members overseas the chance to view their programming live and in replay formats.

Advertisement

Of note, I personally sent Dixie a message this week, encouraging her to research a distribution deal with Armed Forces Network in order to broadcast Impact and PPVs to troops deployed overseas, but have yet to receive a response from her or TNA representatives. However, TNA did Tweet several of my pictures from yesterday, leading me to believe they have received my communications in the past.

Two of the wrestlers, when asked, agreed that Hogan and Bischoff began the downturn of TNA and its initial momentum. But they also stated the move to Destination America accelerated TNA's recent plummet in ratings and appeal to a wider audience.

When asked about Jeff Jarret and GFW, consensus between Aris, Anderson, and Helms was only time will tell if his promotion is legit or all smoke and mirrors. Most believe the Vegas tapings were full of audience plants and based on ticket sells to live events, the promotion is not as strong as Jarret is currently claiming. Most also stated they would be willing to work for GFW and confirmed TNA and GFW have a cross-promotional deal allowing wrestlers from both rosters to perform at the other's live events and eventually on television as well, once and if Jarret is able to secure a distribution deal for GFW tapings. A potential merger of the two promotions was not ruled out, but no one was able or willing to confirm if any talks had taken place between TNA and GFW. I was also led to believe they honestly did not know either way regardless, because Dixie keeps the locker room in the dark when it comes to matters of corporate business.

Advertisement

Thea Trinidad, formerly known as TNA Knockout, Rosita, and girlfriend of Austin Aries, was perhaps the most charming of the group. She continuously thanked each of us for our service and was very gracious with troops who requested pictures with her. Her story, much like Chris Melendez, is one that is centralized around 9/11. Thea lost her father in the attacks on that day, a fact that I did not know until spending the afternoon with her and the other superstars of the Ringside Salute Tour. I also learned her grandfather was a professional wrestling star in Puerto Rico, who had to retire following an injury from the hands of WWE Hall of Fame legend, Bruno Sammartino. Trinidad explained that in order to honor her father's memory and to continue a family tradition, she entered professional wrestling at age 19. She reflected back to memories of her and her father watching the WWF growing up and remembers attending events at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The bond between her and her father shared over their love and passion for professional wrestling, guided her to the business and through her training, which led to an eventual championship run with TNA, following her try-outs with the WWE.

Advertisement

I asked Thea what her thoughts were on the WWE's current "Divas Revolution" and if she believes there will ever be a time we see Wrestlemania headlined by women. She said what Stephanie McMahon and young stars like Charlotte, Paige, and Becky Lynch were doing was great for the industry and exposure for female athletes in the business world-wide. Trinidad remembered the night that Lita and Trish Stratus main evented Raw and how passionate the live audience was for that match. The fans were really into the storyline and excited that a women's match was the main event for WWE's flagship program and she believes the fans are hungry for this once again. Thea was hesitant to say women would ever headline Wrestlemania, but believes it could happen and would love that very much.

I admit that at 34, I am still a mark for professional wrestling and religiously watch Raw, NXT, Impact, and Ring of Honor. When the entertainers that have brought joy and excitement to me and my family for all of these years take the time out of their schedules to travel 8,000 miles into the dangers of the Middle East in 130 degree heat, that is special. When you get to spend an entire afternoon and evening with them, just chatting like regular normal everyday folks and receive their thanks for what I do, that's priceless. While we might not have spent the day with stars at the level of Hulk Hogan, The Rock, or Daniel Bryan, we spent the day with folks who are more humble than most people I know and provided candid honesty like no others in the business. I would much rather have this experience and memory than a 30 second meet and greet with someone who will forget my name 10 seconds later. Say what you want about TNA vs. WWE or cheesy comic book like gimmicks, but I'll tell you right now, these individuals are great people, who genuinely care about making a positive difference in the world, love what they do, and give everything they have day in and day out to bring a smile to our faces. This is a day that I will cherish and remember forever.

Advertisement

Thanks again to WrestlingINC.com reader Travis Akers for this great report. You can follow him on Twitter @travisakers.

Comments

Recommended