Let's Be Honest About........The 10/10/10 Angle

Jeff Hardy shocked TNA fans by turning heel and defeating Kurt Angle and Ken Anderson in a triple threat match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory on October 10, 2010 (See, 10/10/10). In doing so, he aligned himself with Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett to form a faction known as Immortal. This was supposed to be epic. Key word is "supposed". Here are 4 gripes and one bad outcome that characterized this angle.

JEFF HARDY WAS THE WRONG PERSON TO BE THE CENTERPIECE OF THIS PLAN

I get the fact that Immortal needed a face (meaning the main piece of the stable) to build their faction. The other two in that main event at BFG: Angle and Anderson, would have been suitable in that role. Hell, even the Monster Abyss would have been suitable. But they tapped Hardy to be the centerpiece. And right off the bat, Hardy's heel work was astounding. He seemed genuinely upset with the fans cheering him on while jumping off ladders and putting his body through hell, despite the fact it's Hardy that deserved the blame. The real reason why Hardy shouldn't have been the centerpiece is simple: Jeff Hardy is not reliable. Take a certain match from Victory Road 2011. We will get to that later.

JEFF HARDY DERAILED FUTURE PLANS ONE WEEK LATER

On an episode of Impact!, Hardy's next opponent after winning the world championship was Ken Anderson. Kurt Angle wasn't eligible since the stipulation in the BFG title was that if Angle lost, he would have to retire. Anderson would have to face Frankie Kazarian in an Ultimate X match to be the #1 contender. Side note: Frankie Kazarian is an underrated talent and should have a world title run before he retires. During the match, Anderson was with a bad shoulder. Either kayfabe or not, it made it hard for Anderson to climb the ladder to snatch the X hanging on a harness over the ring. Anderson was unable to win the match as Fourtune would assist Kazarian in retrieving the X. Anderson would fight off Fourtune until Hardy ran out with a steel chair. This is where everything gets complicated. Hardy hits Anderson square in the back of his head with said chair. Anderson hits the ground, blood spilling out of his head. It turned out it wasn't a work. Hardy accidentally hit Anderson legitimately and caused a concussion, derailing any future plans of a program. So, TNA panicked and turned Matt Morgan face for no reason whatsoever and he lost twice to Hardy in two lackluster matches.

FOURTUNE JOINING IMMORTAL DIDN'T MAKE SENSE

Ric Flair formed TNA's version of Evolution with the stable Fourtune. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff formed Immortal to be TNA's version of the NW......no, to stroke Hogan and Bischoff's ego. Also, Jeff Jarrett's. It was an awkward pairing just when Immortal was getting off the ground. I call it bad timing. If it happened after a couple Pay-per-views, it would seem logical. But they decided to do this. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are good friends in real life, behind the scenes. Check out Hogan's viral video wishing Flair happy birthday to him. In the wrestling world, Hogan and Flair are mortal enemies and the most polar opposite opponents ever, yet they had classic match after match throughout their careers. Flair was the technical wrestler who can beat you with a figure-four leglock or brass tactics. He is the dirtiest player in the game after all. Hogan was the performer with the 24 inch python biceps and the showman with the masses. Things would be more complicated when shortly there after, Fourtune decided to split with Immortal, turning face in the process. Something that could have been done without them joining Immortal.

TNA MADE THE EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN TOO COMPLEX

Everything stems from Hogan and Bischoff tricking TNA President Dixie Carter to sign away her company to them. Simple. However, TNA made it complicated by going into long variables about the plan going into motion. Wrestling fans don't want that. They watch the program for wrestling. The Impact! episode after BFG contained three matches in a two-hour show. The rest of the show was trying to explain to the audience how they fooled Dixie Carter. TNA did this when Bully Ray won the World Title from Jeff Hardy at Lockdown in 2013, also becoming the President of the Aces and Eights. All Bully Ray had to say was "I won the World Title and became the President of Aces and Eights to screw over Hulk and Brooke Hogan". See how simple that was. Instead, they used TV time weeks after to have him explain in detail what he did. Seriously, there was no need for that on either spectrums. (Side note: Jwoww from Jersey Shore was on this peculiar episode of Impact!).

The gripes I just listed seem as though TNA was able to make right of a situation that would be fruitful for the company and fans. They didn't. And it came to a crashing halt because of.......

THAT "VICTORY ROAD" MATCH

Remember earlier I said Jeff Hardy wasn't reliable? Here's why. At Victory Road 2011, Hardy was set to face Sting for the TNA World Title. Jeff came into the ring, clearly incoherent and under the influence of something. Both Bischoff and Sting were visibly upset over this and the plans changed on the fly. Sting pinned Hardy in over a minute to win the title. This became a black eye for the company and one of the most disappointing moments in wrestling history. TNA should have done a storyline where Hardy was attacked backstage and he would be out for a long period of time, causing the title to be stripped from him. Yes, the IWC would be griping about what really happened to him, because it's a better alternative than what they actually did.

There are times I wonder how this company has survived 18 years.

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