Top 10 Best Things Done Under The Dixie Carter Regime in Impact Wrestling By Hakeem Fullerton
However, a large amount of people in the wrestling world tend to forget that in addition to convincing her family to finance the company all the way into the mid 2010's, Dixie Carter has actually done a lot more good for the company then many like to remember; While Dixie wasn't perfect when it came to the ins and outs of running a wrestling company it's easy to look back now and see that Dixie was less of a moronic villain but more of an unsung hero in the history of TNA/Impact...And today I'll be talking about the 10 best things that happened under the Dixie Carter regime of 2013-mid 2016.
Honorable Mentions:
Matt Hardy Wins The TNA World Championship
British Boot Camp
EC3 vs. Rockstar Spud In A Hair vs. Hair Match
Jessicka Havok's First Run in Impact
The Dollhouse
10. Eric Young Becomes TNA World Champion
Whether you see this as an attempt by the company to copy the success of Daniel Bryan in the WWE or as an opportunity to reward a hard working locker room veteran with the championship win that had eluded him for so long is up to you but, the fact still remains that Eric Young winning the TNA World Heavyweight championship was an amazing moment for himself and the fans alike.
On the April 10th 2014 edition of Impact, Eric Young won an over the top rope battle royale which saw the former Team Canada member become the #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. However realizing the opportunity that he had, E.Y. decided that he wanted his match for the world title tonight on Impact and under the orders of then authority figure, MVP the match was made.
In the main event, Eric Young challenged Magnus for the TNA World Championship in a match that saw the TNA original finally achieved what some of his peers couldn't and that's becoming the world champion; In front of group of cheering fans, Eric had finally become the top guy in the company he represented for more than a decade.
E.Y's time as world champion saw him defend the belt against Abyss in a monster's ball match on TV and Magnus in a rematch at that years Sacrifice PPV, both times he won. On the May 8th episode of Impact, a match between Bobby Roode and Eric Young was looking to take place but MVP nixed those ideas and instead revealed at the end of the episode that he himself would face Eric Young for the world title at Slammiversary, unfortunately for MVP he suffered an injury which ended his world title aspirations but instead resulted in a three way match for the title involving E.Y., Austin Aries, and Bobby Lashley inside a steel cage with the bearded wonder retaining his title in the main event.
On the June 19th episode, by orders of MVP, Eric Young was forced to defend his belt against Bobby Lashley in the main event and it ended with Lashley winning the first of many TNA world titles during his run with the company. Eric would get his rematch on the July 3rd episode but again he was unsuccessful.
Though his reign at the top only lasted 3 months, Eric Young's world title win was a feel good moment for a man who spent the majority of his tenure in the company as the lovable blonde haired goof who was never given a chance to shine in the main event.
9. Knockouts Knockdown
TNA/Impact has always been seen as progressive in the eyes of many due to the fact that they've accomplished feats that other companies wouldn't even consider until years later.
From making Ron "The Truth" Killings the first ever African American to be recognized as the NWA World champion to booking smaller wrestlers like AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels as main attractions, the company has always broken barriers that have made it stand out for all the right reasons, case in point the Knockouts.
Since it's inception in 2007, the Knockouts division (TNA/Impact Wrestling's women's division) has become a mainstay within the promotion: giving countless female competitors like Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, ODB, Roxxi and Taylor Wilde the opportunity to wrestle in the squared circle and in the process, becoming the future stars of pro wrestling.
In 2013, the one night only events began after TNA president, Dixie Carter made an announcement that these events become apart of the pay per view format but on March the 17th the very first all female event called 'Knockouts Knockdown' would be born.
The event saw wrestlers from the independent scene and current Knockouts on the roster take part in a tournament that would see the winner being crowned "The Queen of the Knockouts" by the end of the night (by the way the winner of that tournament was former Knockouts Champion, Madison Rayne).
Since that event the company would continue to have Knockouts Knockdown as a recurring event with it's final show "Victory Road-Knockouts Knockdown" happening in March of 2017 before Scott D'Amore and Don Callis scrapped much of the one night only concepts from the previous regimes in 2018.
What makes the Knockouts Knockdown event so memorable is the fact that the show had a central focus on women's wrestling, in particular finding the next big female stars and allowing them to develop a style that would get them ready to sign with Impact or other promotions.
And let's not forget the amount of amazing talent that took apart in these events: Veda Scott, Leva Bates, Santana Garrett, Rachel Ellering, Deonna Purrazzo, Thea Trindad (Zelina Vega), Su Yung, Scarlett Boudreaux, Marti Belle...these ladies and so much more came in and wrestled with some of the best that Impact Wrestling had on it's Knockouts roster at the time.
Plus, many of them would get signed to the Impact roster following their appearances on the show like Allie, Jessicka Havok, Mia Yim, Allysin Kay and Alisha Edwards.
The decision to have a mostly female PPV event like Knockouts Knockdown further cemented Dixie's and Impact Wrestling's progressive views on women in pro wrestling and it would take until 2018 for any major wrestling promotion (WWE) to have it's first ever all female PPV.
8. The Wolves
Best known for their time in Ring Of Honor, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards also known as The American Wolves or The Wolves came to TNA in 2014 and instantly were treated like big deals within the tag team division.
Eddie and Davey wasted no time in proving to the fans that they were legit as they defeated the BroMans to become the new tag team champions on the February 23rd 2014 edition of Impact. Although the reign only lasted a week the pair were already showing signs of them becoming one of the best tag teams in modern TNA/Impact Wrestling History.
The duo would win the belts back in a three on two handicap match at the Sacrifice PPV and would become the tag team champions five different times whilst defending the them in Japan, the U.K. and the United States during their tenure. The Wolves went up against teams like Bram and Magnus, Abyss and James Storm, Decay and Beer Money Inc.
Some of their most notably matches would have be their best of five series feud with Austin Aries and Bobby Roode and a best of three series with legendary teams, Team 3D and The Hardys Boys which concluded with the Wolves retaining their titles in a full metal mayhem match on Impact TV (A match that Impact fans and management called one of the best matches of the decade).
Alas, injuries would cause the teams momentum to slow down between 2015 and 2016 eventually leading to the two men having solo careers with Eddie winning the X Division title twice, the TNA World Championship once, and becoming the first American born wrestler to win Japan's prestigious GHC World heavyweight Championship in 2017.
Davey didn't do much during his solo run aside from turning on his former partner after returning from injury, which would lead up to a mix tag team match at Slammiversary 2017 where Eddie Edwards and his wife Alisha defeated Davey and his then significant other, Angelina Love before the pairing of Richards and Love left the company just a few months later.
While fans hope to see the Wolves reunite for one more run in Impact, the alleged issues of Davey Richards' attitude and no showing events might prevent that from happening.
Regardless, the legacy and matches that Davey and Eddie had together as a team in TNA/Impact will stand the test of time.
7. Bobby Lashley: Main Event Star
There are a lot of former WWE stars who have come to TNA looking to improve their careers after a less than stellar run in the WWE but aside from a few more names that I'll be mentioning later on this list, perhaps the best example of a failed WWE star becoming a big time player in Impact Wrestling would have to be Bobby Lashley.
Making his return to TNA at Lockdown 2014 following a blink and you'll miss it run with the company in 2009-10, Bobby Lashley turned heel on Eric young and partnered with the likes of MVP and Kenny King to form the Beat Down Clan (BDC).
It was through this association that saw Lashley defeat E.Y. to win his first TNA World heavyweight championship and become the first African American to win the TNA world title. Following that win, Lashley would continue to be treated like a main eventer as he would defend the title against names like Eric Young, Austin Aries, and Jeff Hardy before losing the title on two different occasions against Bobby Roode and Kurt Angle.
Lashley would go on to become the world champion again a couple of more times and would even win the X Division and King of The Mountain titles before ending up in feuds with names like Alberto El Patron, Moose, Sami Callihan and Brian Cage before departing from the company in early 2018.
In addition to his championship wins in the ring, Lashley also spent his time fighting in Bellator where his record stands at 15 wins and 2 loses.
Since then Lashley has returned to the WWE and despite winning the intercontinental championship, Lashley has failed to replicate the success he had in Impact Wrestling.
6. Bully Ray Puts Dixie Through A Table
Dixie Carter's time as a dastardly heel from late 2013-2015 was not received well by the mainstream public, at the best it got a mixed reception from the fans and at worse it was uninspiring. On the August 19th 2013 edition of Impact, a disgruntled AJ Styles decided to address the fans about the issues that were plaguing the company and singled out one name in particular: Dixie Carter. Whether or not the stuff AJ said was scripted or it was a shoot, it certainly rang true with a lot of people who were in the know about the company's problems.
This resulted in Dixie coming out and addressing the harsh criticism; It started off with Dixie speaking in a softly spoken voice before getting increasingly angry over AJ's claims but in the process she kind of ruined her own momentum by delivering a very long and rambling promo that ultimately turned the real life president of TNA/Impact into a heel.
It also doesn't help that Dixie's so bad it's good acting really took fans out of it and aside from things like the final "matches" of AJ Styles and Sting before jumping to the WWE and Magnus' TNA world title reign...the heel turn wasn't too bad all things considered.
During her time as the evil authority figure, Dixie played a sniveling chickens### heel who thought she was above everyone in the company; Considering how many ex TNA employees have painted Dixie as a spoil rich girl who got everything see wanted by not doing much, it only made sense for her to play into that role and she certainly played it like no one else.
Around the time Lockdown 2014 came around Dixie was in a kayfabe power struggle for control of the company against former WWE superstar and "new investor" MVP. This lead to the main event of that year's Lockdown event being a lethal lockdown where if either MVP or Dixie's team won the match then control over the company would be there's.
In a last minute attempt to maintain power, Dixie Carter enlisted Bully Ray as the special guest enforcer and referee for this match but in a shocking turn of events Bully turned babyface after stopping Bobby Roode from putting one of his opponents through a table allowing MVP's team to come out with the win and "control over the company".
On the following episode of Impact Bully Ray explained his actions by simply mentioning that the last thing this company needs is to have Dixie Carter in charge.
At the Sacrifice PPV the following month, Bully Ray took on Bobby Roode in a tables match which saw Roode come out victorious thanks to the interference of Dixie Carter disguised as a cameraman.
The feud between Bully Ray and Dixie Carter was cemented after that, with Bully Ray continuously pursuing Carter with the aim of putting her through a table and getting rid of her once and for all.
After weeks and weeks of coming close to getting the job done only for Dixie to slip out reach, Bully Ray alongside names like Tommy Dreamer, Brother Devon and the entire Impact Wrestling locker room came out in front a lively crowd in the Manhattan Center on the August 7th 2014 episode of Impact which saw Bully head to the top rope and proceed to powerbomb Dixie through a table in the middle of the ring (well kind of as Bully really sat and landed on the table while powerbombing Dixie).
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