Mistakes That Made Fans Turn On TNA Wrestlers

It is often said that perception is reality, and that its very hard to shake off a bad reputation. TNA Wrestling would absolutely agree with both of those statements. Even now that the promotion is best buds with WWE and arguably having the biggest year in their history, it's hard to argue that there still isn't a black cloud hovering over TNA. And it all stems from the first ten years or so of its existence, where an over reliance on former WWE stars, booking mistakes, and just general managerial incompetence led to the promotion being viewed as second tier, with many fans mocking it with "LOLTNA" every time TNA screwed up.

Interestingly enough, during these down years that TNA had, it was very rare that wrestling fans would actually turn on the roster. Some of that may have had to do with how strong the roster was, featuring the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Bobby Roode, Christian Cage, Monty Brown, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Abyss, Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, and countless other homegrown talents. But it was likely also due to the fact that most of the blame for TNA's failings went towards those behind the scenes than it did those in front. Nevertheless, there have been moments when fans have soured on TNA wrestlers thanks to some key mistakes. Here are three that really stand out.

Jeff Jarrett's reputation has done a complete 180 these days that it's easy to forget he was less a beloved podcast/veteran AEW talent and more TNA's version of "reign of terror" Triple H. For the first several years of TNA's existence, Jarrett wasn't just the "King of the Mountain," he was the mountain, the meadow, the nearby forest, and the less nearby but still pretty close villages. No one held the NWA World Heavyweight Champion more than Jarrett during this period (his 6 reigns trounce the second closest, Styles, who only had three reigns) and no one was featured more than Double J. It would be comical in a "Where's Poochie?" sort of way if it hadn't gotten plenty of fans up in arms over Jarrett's success, leading to comparisons to that aforementioned Triple H run.

If one wanted to defend Jarrett, they could argue that TNA was still a growing promotion at the time, Jarrett was among the most recognizable names in the promotion, having been a star in WWE and a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion in the past, and most importantly, there'd be no promotion with him given he helped found it. None of those defenses held up though, as fans saw Jarrett as another wrestler who assumed power and hogged it all for himself, all while holding down the younger talent such as Styles, Daniels, Joe, Brown, Abyss, the list goes on. Things may be better for Jarrett now, especially as his career winds down, but there are surely some fans that will never forgive him for those early TNA years.

It's hard to believe that only five years ago at the start of 2020, Tessa Blanchard was on top of the world. Most hardcore fans felt the TNA star was among the best women's wrestlers in the world, and perhaps even the best American women's wrestler not signed to AEW or WWE. And TNA was ready to go all the way with her, having built up a storyline between her and Sami Callihan for months that would see Blanchard beat him at Hard to Kill, and become the first woman in history to hold the TNA Heavyweight Championship. Then, just days before Blanchard would win the title, several of her peers revealed a 2016 incident in Japan where Blanchard spat on fellow wrestler La Rosa Negra, and lobbied some racial slurs towards her. Blanchard largely stayed quiet on the situation, and her reputation took a hit; it took another when she refused to return to TNA later that summer during COVID-19, vacating the title and departing TNA on bad terms.

So when Blanchard shockingly returned to TNA in late 2024 after spending years off the grid in Mexico, many wondered what the reaction would be like. The answer was not good. Even after all these years, Blanchard had not extensively addressed her actions towards La Rosa Negra publicly, the closest moment being a photo the two shared in April 2023. As a result, Blanchard's return was met with scorn from the TNA audience, with fans chanting "She's a racist" at Blanchard, and even wearing shirts with the same slogan. While that hasn't yet deterred TNA from continuing to use Blanchard, it remains to be seen if it will affect her getting a significant push. One thing that is clear is that fan's memories are long, and without addressing the situation thoroughly, it looks to be the reaction Blanchard can expect to get for the foreseeable future.

For all the things that Jeff Hardy has done in his Hall of Fame career and for all the things good and bad TNA has done, Victory Road 2011 will likely go down as the first thing most fans remember about both when all is said and done. For those who don't know the story, Hardy was set to challenge Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Victory Road, having lost the title to Sting just a few weeks before. But as the match was about to main event, it became clear that Hardy, who has battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout his wrestling career, was in no shape to compete. After some stalling from Eric Bischoff, the match started, Sting Scorpion Death Dropped Hardy and held him down (as Hardy attempted to kick out) for the three count. Fans were stunned and irate, and so was Sting, who loudly agreed with a fan who stated "this is b******t" as the show went off the air.

In the years since, plenty of discussion has continued around the match, with Hardy expressing remorse for his actions, while others questioned how Hardy was allowed to perform by TNA higher ups. In a way, some have put more of the blame on those people than Hardy himself; in fact, Hardy's popularity has largely remained unchanged since, with fans continuing to support him when he made his TNA comeback later that year, and during subsequent runs in WWE, AEW, and TNA, despite having several DUI arrests during that time. As such, one could argue that fans never did turn on Hardy, even if some felt they should've. But even if that didn't exactly happen, Victory Road 2011 did change the way fans looked at Hardy for the rest of is career. Many still loved him, many still supported him, but those same fans also no longer could completely trust him. The same could be said for promotions too, even if they did continue to give Hardy more chances.