10 Crazy Things You’ll Find On WWE Network (If You Search Deep Enough)

4. Weird TNA Elements

Uncensored Bane
WWE Network

WWE and IMPACT! Wrestling do not share a working relationship, but for a presumed sweetener of a fee, the former TNA has allowed WWE use of its footage to flesh out the history of its old talent on Network specials.

On the recent Table For 3 featuring Sting, AJ Styles, and Jeff Jarrett, various footage is shown to complement stories that are told orally, and of course, while there are customary glimpses of the X Division's awesomeness, the Stinger is seen hamming it up as the Joker. He speaks very fondly of his time in the role, but it doesn't do much to present TNA, or Impact, as this great producer of future talent.

Moreover, searching for 'TNA' also reminds one of a bizarre, very minor period in WWE's history, in which, in an early harbinger of the company's later attempts to dominate all wrestling platforms, the dot com page for a brief time covered events outside of WWE in a weird bid to subsume online wrestling journalism. They don't want Dave Meltzer getting over, much less 70% of the talent warehoused in the Performance Center. Regrettably, there is no snarky editorialising, which may prove amusing. The information is disseminated succinctly, and pointlessly. If anything, mightn't this have alerted fans to the existence of new competition?

Actually, it is amusing that WWE was once more threatened by the existence of prowrestling.net than a corporation-backed promotion with household name talent.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!