TNA was in a weird place in 2010. Despite scoring an all-time high rating for its January 4 episode, the promotion would continue to struggle creatively in the following months. The legal troubles for Scott Hall and Sean Waltman would put the company in a negative light.
These PR nightmares would have put other companies out of business, but not for the IMPACT Zone. The promotion, somehow, continued to push forward, giving some excellent matches in the process.
Let’s take a look at some of the best TNA Wrestling TV matches of 2010:
Generation Me vs. Motor City Machine Guns (TNA IMPACT #289)
One of the hottest teams in wrestling today, The Young Bucks, made their TNA Wrestling debut in this match. Matt and Nick, (collectively known as Max and Jeremy Buck of Generation Me at the time), squared off against Motor City Machine Guns for their big TV debut.
The brothers were able to showcase their potential in the early goings of the match. This was a fast-paced match with some early shades of the future tag team encounters between the two teams.
Jeremy and Max Buck pulled a huge upset to pick up a huge win in their TNA tag team debut.
Abyss vs. Rob Van Dam (Stairway to Janice Match – iMPACT: The Whole F’N Show)
The Stairway to Janice was one of the weird gimmick matches TNA Creative came up with in 2010. And by creative, I mean Vince Russo. For those unaware, this is basically a ladder match where the only way to win is to unhook Janice (Abyss’s nail-infested baseball bat) and hit your opponent with it.
From an in-ring standpoint, this is a pretty solid match. RVD is great with his aerial offensive. Abyss takes the brunt of punishment because that was pretty much his gimmick during his TNA run. As for Russo, he’d be dropped as chief creative writer in 2011.
Mickie James vs. Tara (Steel Cage Match – December 9)
Mickie James versus Tara (formerly Victoria) is a feud that doesn’t get enough appreciation, in my opinion. Both women were able to showcase their strengths in an era where women’s wrestling wasn’t given due attention.
This feud brought the best out of both ladies. The promo work was believable and the action was extremely physical. After meeting each other at Turning Point and Final Resolution PPV’s, the two women collided in a Steel Cage Match on the December 9, 2010, episode of TNA Wrestling.
The animosity was evident from the get-go as both women started brawling before the match. After some nasty bumps and some head-on collisions with the unforgiving steel, Mickie hit Tara with an avalanche Lou Thesz Press for the win.
AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle (World Title Match – January 4)
January 4, 2010, marked a new era for TNA. Hulk Hogan made his televised debut for the promotion. The company officially started using the IMPACT branding. Plus, AJ Styles collided with Kurt Angle in the main event for the world title.
These two all-time greats put on an all-time performance inside the six-sided ring. There were some brilliant counters and near falls. Styles was the reigning world champion at the time and he more than held his own against one of his toughest opponents in the business in Angle.
The interference was a classic example of Vince Russo overbooking, but that didn’t stop almost five-star action that went down inside the ring.
Beer Money Inc. vs. Motor City Machine Guns (TNA World Tag Team Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls Match – August 12)
MCMG had bested Beer Money and Team 3D in a tag team title number one contender’s match to face then-champions, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman. However, the champions would be stripped of their titles and eventually released due to some legal troubles.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin would then feud with Bobby Roode and James Strom over the tag team titles. The two teams would collide in a critically acclaimed Best of 5 Series to determine the fate of the tag team titles.
The finals of the series would go down on the August 12 episode of IMPACT called “The Whole F’n Show”. This fast-paced match-up saw Beer Money secure the first fall after nailing D.W.I after eight solid minutes of action.
MCMG was able to turn the tides and clinch the second fall with their tag team finisher mere minutes after the first fall. The match-up would continue for several more minutes and feature some excellent wrestling from both teams.
Shelley and Sabin would claim the win after planting Storm with their tag team finisher twice, thus capping off one of the best TNA Wrestling TV matches of not just 2010 but company history.
Also read: Nick Aldis’ 5 Best Matches
