Just finished up watching the AMC Debut. And wow I have some thoughts. I love a rebrand / debut show in wrestling as there is just something to getting a fresh start that feels palpable any time it comes around. Raw on Netflix, TNA's snake eyes shows with the rebrand to TNA, both being shiny examples of those retread shows and kicking the wheels into the direction many wanted to see. I was critical of the TNA snake eyes shows when I first watched them because the shiny parts of the structure of the shows were guys or gals who weren't going to be there long or popping in (see Trinity, Okada, Ospreay). Nonetheless they were fun shows and provided a lot of light to what TNA was looking to make of themselves into the future and 2024 specifically.
With that being said, this show seriously may go down as the worst rebrand show I have ever watched. I am not going to go with just the easy bait of saying 3 matches over 2 hours is a pretty dogshit way to start out your new wrestling show.
But it is about the CHOICES of those matches that stunk to high heavens. I mean maybe it is that TNA no longer has top talent to put on a solid wrestling show, but choosing not to showcase your X Division, something that is the fabric of TNA and still very much a bright spot. Would've loved to see Cedric Alexander, KC Navarro (Injury?), Leon Slater (Euro tour?) and ESPECIALLY Steve Maclin wrestle. Anytime I have tuned into TNA over the past two years I am blown away by Maclin and am so fucking impressed with how far he's come as a singles wrestler just as a guy who was perpetually in WWE's developmental system with hardly any acclaim.
I also think the less is more approach with big debuts, surprises, and appearances from outsiders is paramount. There was no major male wrestling debut and I absolutely think that is okay. The AJ Styles appearance made all the sense in the world. Bully Ray on commentary, Dixie Carter appearance, Sonya Deville authority debut, Perez Hilton appearance??? Like truly if they had just focused on the roster they had and not hotshotted some of these incredibly boring, stale, or offensive appearances, it would've made for a better episode. People get to stuck in the idea of debut shows needing to be like the Raw after WM where things are shaken to it's core and it makes bookers do incredibly dumb shit like the majority of these silly appearances. It sets a tone and vibe of "hey see were trying to do exactly what they are doing with these debut shows, but the best we got is Dixie and Perez Hilton". It just reeks of minor league wrestling where as Smark had mentioned, the stage, lighting and appearance was amazing. The production was terrible, but I don't even want to get into that.
I was excited for this show as I am for most rebrand shows as I mentioned earlier, but you are either delusional or stuck in mark hell if you think this show was any good.
