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| A clip from the opening of the TNA Wrestling special last March 31, 2020 aired on AXS TV in the US, Fight Network in Canada and Twitch worldwide. (Image Source: Monsters And Critics/AXS TV) |
The special was slated to be a preview show to the "TNA: There's No Place Like Home" which was originally intended to take place during Wrestlemania weekend on April 3rd (Friday) at the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida which was supposed to be the host city of the sport's greatest spectacle. However, the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic affecting thousands in the United States altered the professional wrestling business and forced a vast majority of events to be cancelled or postponed including the TNA reunion show. Despite the postponement, the special was shown as intended and received mixed reactions from fans and critics as well as positive feelings of both old and new IMPACT Wrestling fans.
Filmed last March 6th inside the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia, the TNA Wrestling special on AXS TV, Fight Network and Twitch included matches featuring some of the company's past stars such as Hernandez, Chase Stevens, Kid Kash, Suicide and Manik with legendary ring announcer David Penzer and IMPACT's Executive Vice-President Scott D' Amore calling the action. It also featured an uncensored interview from professional wrestling great Scott Steiner who was collapsed during the said tapings and is recovering after undergoing a successful heart surgery. The special also looks back at the history of TNA and its uniqueness to be different through interesting and playful moments such as the progressive display of IMPACT's Knockouts division which ultimately started the women's wrestling revolution in the first place and the rules and regulations of the infamously dangerous King Of The Mountain match that the current IMPACT roster tried to understand.
Since its inception in June 2002, TNA was a platform for fresh stars such as AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Jay Lethal to hone their craft in front of a nationwide viewing audience on a major television network. Despite its infamous low points, TNA also gave the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Christian Cage and Kurt Angle to reinvent themselves and further improve their in-ring prowess. Furthermore, TNA has built a dedicated audience craving for an alternative option. With professional wrestling becoming a more competitive field than it was back before TNA was born, IMPACT Wrestling continues to provide fans a viable option in the evolving landscape of the business.
IMPACT Wrestling's flagship weekly television program has been gaining momentum since moving to AXS TV in October 2019, more particularly in its main event feature, with the ongoing feud between IMPACT World Champion Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin which is intended to be played out at the Rebellion PPV event scheduled for April 19th before being indefinitely postponed due to the threat of the pandemic. Though a break in schedule halts its momentum, IMPACT did right for its talent when they were paid per-day talent for the cancelled events scheduled throughout the month of March. Continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation in North America, D'Amore said in an interview with Sports Illustrated that IMPACT is examining every aspect of possible ways to continue doing what they love to do and it is something that IMPACT fans around the world should look forward to in the middle of a worldwide health crisis.
Catch a new episode of IMPACT Wrestling every Tuesday at 9:00 am (Philippine time) on www.twitch.tv/impactwrestling and Saturday at 7:00 pm on TAP EDGE via SKYcable channel 218, tapgo.tv and the TAP GO mobile app on Android and iOS devices. For more IMPACT news and updates, visit IMPACTWRESTLING.COM and @IMPACTWRESTLING on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out IMPACT Wrestling's official YouTube channel for highlights on the TNA Wrestling special.
