Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

10. The Humble Beginnings

After WWE had beaten down WCW to the point that Vince McMahon was able to pick up Ted Turner’s rasslin’ company for a relatively modest fee, the wrestling world – at least in the North American sense – seemed destined to become a monopoly.

That WCW buyout happened in early 2001, but a year later came the rumblings of a new kid on the block. That new kid, of course, would be what was initially known as NWA: Total Nonstop Action, aka NWA-TNA.

Created by the father and son duo of Jerry and Jeff Jarrett, NWA-TNA was hoping to rise up to fill the void left by WCW’s demise. The promotion was able to use the National Wrestling Alliance branding and even NWA championships thanks to a licensing deal that was in place, and the plan was clearly to tap into the audience left stranded after WCW closed its doors.

Leaning on the three letters of the NWA brand of yesteryear, TNA had set its stall out when it came to the approach the promotion was going to take. Could that possibly ever get anywhere even close to matching WWE, though? That was the big question.