The vultures are circling the TNA tape library
Look, I get it. We’re all junkies at this point. If a show features grainy, 480p footage of a mid-2000s wrestling promotion and a dramatic synth soundtrack, we’re clicking play. The latest Dark Side of the Ring episode regarding the absolute circus that was TNA under the Jarrett regime is a masterclass in why this industry is basically a never-ending soap opera for people who enjoy chair shots to the cranium.
JBL chimed in on the discourse, and as much as you might want to roll your eyes at the guy who basically made a career out of being the biggest headache in a locker room, he’s got a point. When you start pulling the thread on the TNA years, the whole sweater doesn't just unravel—it catches fire and starts burning the building down.
Missing the point of the gimmick
The core of this drama isn't just the professional failure. It’s personal. Watching the breakdown of the Karen Jarrett era feels less like a documentary and more like being a fly on the wall during a divorce mediation that ended with a guitar shot. Some fans think this series is a public service, but honestly, it’s just professional wrestling’s favorite way of eating its own tail.
The behind-the-scenes chaos at Impact (or TNA, whatever you want to call the wreckage) was often more compelling than the actual matches. Remember when the main event featured two legends who clearly hated each other’s guts standing in the ring trying to figure out who was actually getting paid? That was the standard operating procedure for years.
The cost of the carny life
JBL’s take highlights a grim reality. We love the high spots, the wild booking decisions where a guy wins the belt because he has a friend in creative, and the general insanity that makes this business what it is. But when the camera turns on the people behind the curtain, the shine wears off pretty fast.
We saw booking decisions that would make a sane person quit on the spot. I’m talking about taking a perfectly good roster and burying them under layers of confusing, soap-opera-lite garbage. Did we need an external investigation into the personal lives of the people running the show to enjoy a solid ladder match? Probably not.
There is a recurring issue in how we codify wrestling history. We treat these Dark Side of the Ring stories like some sort of ancient, tragic myth building. In reality, it’s just a group of people who never learned how to function in a standard workplace environment. It’s messy, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s arguably the only reason we still follow this stuff with the intensity of a blood feud.
The booking ledger is still red
Let’s be honest: TNA was a disaster for long stretches, and pretending otherwise is just revisionist history. Between the weird segments and the questionable financial decisions, the only surviving legacy is the sheer number of guys who moved on to greener pastures elsewhere. The episode serves as a reminder that management matters. If you let the talent dictate the terms, you end up with a product that eventually hits a wall at high velocity.
Despite my cynicism, I’ll watch the next one. We all will. We crave the dirt. We love knowing exactly how the sausage gets made, even if we know for a fact that the butcher is working in the dark and hasn't washed his hands in a decade. Keep the commentary coming, JBL. It’s better than the actual state of most mid-card promotions right now.
