7 History Lessons AEW Could Learn From TNA

7. Find A Way To Be Unique & Stick To It

There was a time, long before 205 Live or NXT, when TNA's Cruiserweight style was king. The 'X Division' ruled the land, filling up hard drives as wrestling fans eagerly downloaded everything they could from forums, LimeWire and the like. With matches starring dynamic young names like AJ Styles, Low Ki, Amazing Red and more, it's not hard to see why.

Then, something changed.

Suddenly, TNA stopped trying to be different to WWE. The X Division was a huge part on that early on, but it gave way to a uniform style that desperately wanted to be Vince McMahon's product, not an alternative to it. That's something AEW must be wary of. They have to find a way to stand out and be unique instead of a watered-down WWE.

What's the point in that anyway? Surely standing out for your own reasons is better than being a second-rate version of something else. All Elite has a red-hot indy platform it can launch from here, and more goodwill going in than TNA did. Hopefully, that'll make the difference.