10 Things We Learned From NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis (Exclusive Interview)

8. The TNA Stink Is Real

Nick Aldis
Impact Wrestling

Since coming into fruition in 2002 as NWA: Total Nonstop Action, the company now known as IMPACT Wrestling has had more than its fair shares of ups and downs (hey, Simon Miller!).

For all of the great matches and moments seen throughout its 18-year run, the former TNA has at times been easy to poke fun at for some of the sheer ludicrous events that we've seen play out on our screens. And as such, some wrestlers have been tarnished with what many have labelled the 'TNA stink'. From speaking to Nick Aldis, he was quick to point out how that perceived TNA stink is a very genuine issue.

Aldis was quick to put over how the likes of AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have played a part in altering the perceptions of former TNA talent, although he did admit that there was a time where he was left contemplating his future after finally leaving IMPACT for good in 2017.

From Aldis, "You know, the TNA stink is a real thing. It's a shame. I think my contemporaries who were all the generation before and who have gone on to have tremendous success in WWE have quashed a lot of that. But the time that I finished up with IMPACT, I couldn't believe how little interest there was. I was just like, 'Wow, the whole business has kind of moved on without me.' I got to a point where if this is what the wrestling business is now, I don't think I have a future in it."

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.