How A Controversial NFL Player Saw Himself Become The Worst Tag Team Wrestler Ever

Highlights

• Impact Wrestling's decision to sign Adam "Pacman" Jones was a major mistake, leading to negative talk about the brand.
• Pacman's inability to wrestle due to his NFL contract restrictions greatly diminished the appeal of his TNA appearances.
• Team Pacman's tag title reign was a disaster, with Jones winning matches by running away or stealing pins, ultimately making TNA look foolish.

Impact Wrestling still existing today and rebounding from past failures is a huge accomplishment given how bad things were in the past. The former TNA made too many bad mistakes and took risks that led to negative momentum forming, like when NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones joined TNA during a suspension with the hopes that it could create outside attention.

However, it turned out to be one of their biggest mistakes that added a lot of negative talk about the brand. Multiple variables led to Pacman being a terrible part of the show in the tag team division. R-Truth and Jones teamed up to form Team Pacman with a tag title reign coming their way. The stint deserves a deeper look at how a controversial NFL player became the worst tag champ ever.

Issues Before Pacman Jones' TNA Debut

TNA signed Adam “Pacman” Jones under the belief that he would be able to wrestle matches. Jones being a naturally great athlete and being a fan of wrestling created the inspiration on his side. However, the NFL contract of Pacman and every other player typically has rules to limit their risks of suffering physical injury elsewhere since they have such valuable contracts.

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Former wrestlers turned actors like The Rock and John Cena run into the same problems, not being able to risk physical injury in a WWE ring if filming a movie. Jones was not able to physically take any bumps or do any moves that could risk an injury. TNA basically lost 95% of the appeal for Pacman wrestling while suspended since he wasn’t going to be able to wrestle.

It became a running joke that bad luck would strike TNA whenever they attempted to take risks, like the Hulk Hogan era failing or other celebrities like Tito Ortiz having all-time bad moments. Pacman was among the earlier instances of TNA going for a publicity stunt and having it backfire in a historic manner. The inability of Jones to wrestle traditional matches or do anything physical led to a bad start and a creative team looking for creative ideas.

The Horrible Idea For Pacman Jones To Win Tag Gold

TNA went a few different routes with how they introduced Pacman Jones on television. There was initial tension between Jones and R-Truth implying that there would be a singles match between the two. However, Jones claimed he wanted to prove he was the ultimate team player by forming a tag team with R-Truth since his NFL reputation was a bit negative for being selfish.

There was a logic gap when their tag act had to be named after him with Team Pacman. TNA was running a storyline of Kurt Angle winning every male title in the promotion at the same time. Angle picked Sting to be his TNA Tag Team Championship partner ahead of a title defense against Team Pacman. The two biggest legends in company history based on name value facing Jones felt like the biggest possible match on paper.

However, it turned into disaster when Pacman and R-Truth won the tag titles against the legendary makeshift team. Angle betrayed Sting to start their singles feud, so it didn’t hurt either man. The problem still existed that Jones won the tag titles by just tagging in to run away from others or steal the pin. TNA booked themselves into a corner even deeper with the tag title push.

Team Pacman Has An All-Time Embarrassing Legacy

TNA kept the façade going of Team Pacman holding the TNA Tag Team Championship for a little over a month. R-Truth was trying his best to carry the in-ring work, but the elephant in the room appeared every time Pacman wrestled. Fans wanted to see Jones in the ring as the only reason for any interest in his TNA appearances since he had the controversial reputation.

Successful title defenses over Team 3D and Triple X on Impact TV continued the story of Pacman scoring wins without getting involved. TNA tried to salvage the title reign on its final night when Xavier Woods made his debut at a young age in the promotion as Consequences Creed. Team Pacman saw Creed replacing Jones in the ring when TNA claimed Pacman suffered an injury training.

AJ Styles and Tomko defeated Woods and R-Truth to end Team Pacman’s title reign. Jones spent a few months in the promotion and never did anything physical due to the NFL contract rules winning out. TNA looked like fools getting embarrassed by making him a champion under that context. Pacman will always have a legacy of being the worst overall tag champ in any promotion.