If you are a regular reader to Inside Pulse Wrestling and have clicked on this story, I suspect you probably did it with two questions in mind:

1) Who is David Roberts?

2) Why is he watching TNA?

I’m not offended so don’t worry.  I am brand new to this site so you have every reason to wonder why you do not recognize my name.  Also, judging by the previous head to head ratings, odds are if you are a wrestling fan, you prefer WWE.  If you are not a wrestling fan, you think TNA is referring to something other than professional wrestling.

When the good folks here asked me to begin writing this column, I believe the preceding thought process likely went something like this:

I feel like to ensure we are fully covering professional wrestling, someone should do a regular column on TNA.  Are there any volunteers?…….No?……Well let’s find some poor sucker from the outside.  Hey, doesn’t Roberts watch TNA?  I bet he would do it.

Again, this doesn’t offend me.  I get it.  The cool kids are watching Raw these days.  However, let me explain why I started watching TNA, why I continue to watch it, and why I think you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.

I am that guy that the professional wrestling purists, and especially the WWE homers, absolutely hate.  I tuned into TNA late.  I watched a random episode here or there, but it was when they brought in Hogan and Bischoff that I set TNA in my DVR.

Yes, I’ll admit it now.  I tuned in for Hogan.  I was intrigued by Bischoff.  I openly cheered the thought of the Band reuniting – Hall, Nash, 6-pac.  I was that guy.

Go ahead, scream your obscenities, but please read a bit further.

I tuned in for those guys because I loved watching in the old WCW.  However, once I did, they weren’t the ones who held my attention.  During the first episode I watched, I saw Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles and Desmond Wolfe vs the Pope.  Despite my original reasons for watching, it was these matches that really held my interest.

Don’t get me wrong, despite his physical slide, I was disappointed to see Scott Hall being released.  I also still love to hear Hogan’s music start up and I am sincerely hoping Kevin Nash eventually is able to stop jobbing to everyone from the rookies to the pop corn guy.  However, it’s the overall mix of talent that keeps me coming back.

My favorite segment in Thursday’s show was Jay Lethal on the mic going toe to toe with one of the best mic men ever, Ric Flair.  If you haven’t seen these two yet, finish this column, then check out the below clip of Lethal imitating Flair.  It is spot on and it is hilarious.  When the two of them go at it on the mic, you see Lethal, a young guy who just seems to genuinely love his job, matching up with a guy literally twice his age and a wrestling legend.

This brings me to why I continue to watch and why you should too.

I’m not suggesting you should watch because of the older guys like Hogan, Flair, Sting, Nash, and Angle.  I’m also not suggesting that you should watch for guys like Hardy, RVD, Mr. Anderson, Abyss, and AJ Styles, who aren’t the youngest, but have been around the block a few times.  In fact, I’m not even suggesting you should watch for TNA’s crop of younger guys like Wolfe, Lethal, Hernandez, Morgan and the Pope.

What I will suggest, as a reason to watch, is the way that TNA has really begun to tie all of those groups together.  Lethal and Flair are working together about as well as any two wrestlers could, let alone the fact that one is a decades long veteran and the other is a guy who is barely able to vote.  Kevin Nash and Eric Young are a very enjoyable tag team matching size with speed, on top of youth with experience.  Kurt Angle is “working his way back up” and in doing so is having great matches with some very young talent.  When one adds to these the very intriguing matching of opposites – Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy – and a crowd pop for RVD that would make even the most casual fan cheer his entrance, you have the makings of a solid two hours of entertainment each week.

Are there areas for improvement?  Absolutely, and in coming columns I’ll discuss some of them.  However, the focus of this column is to pique your interest.  I don’t anticipate that I’ve created any converts today, but hopefully it has served as a good introduction between us and maybe, just maybe, it’s intrigued you enough to check out the show next Thursday, and of course, my column next week.

Until then, I’ll just give you one last reason – Lacey Von Erich.  See you next week.

Tags: Abyss, AJ Styles, desmond wolfe, dr tna, Eric Bischoff, Eric Young, hernandez, Hulk Hogan, Jay Lethal, Jeff Hardy, kevin nash, Kurt Angle, Lacey Von Erich, Matt Morgan, mr anderson, Ric Flair, RVD, Sting, The Pope, TNA, WCW