10 Ways AEW Is Nothing Like TNA
'LOL, AEW' is never going to become a thing, for a wide variety of reasons.
The similarities between AEW and TNA are clear. Both are wrestling promotions, for a start. That one is a little difficult to miss. What's more, they are both American-based promotions that exist outside of the grubby palms of Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the evil overlord of all things professional wrestling. Comparisons between the two are going to be obvious for that reason alone, and the virulent nature of hardcore WWE fans means that any excuse to pessimistically lambast AEW is going to be taken.
Plenty of similarities, sure, but even the most cursory glance will show that AEW and TNA are completely different entities. 2020 isn't 2002, despite sharing all the same numbers. The entire world has changed in those 18 years, not least the pro wrestling business, and assuming that AEW is going to go the way of TNA is that most pointless of combinations; bad faith plus bad science, an equation that leads up blind alleys and nowhere else.
What are the main differences between AEW and TNA? Who, what, where, why and when covers a lot of it, although 'not being built around Jeff Jarrett' and 'planning' do a good job of filling the bones. AEW is nothing like TNA, even in the ways that it is vaguely similar.
10. The Entire Roster Matters
AEW is a top to bottom show. That doesn't mean that everyone gets equal amounts of TV time and attention, it can't, but Dynamite is the closest thing mainstream wrestling fans have had to a stacked show in a long while. There are clear demarcations between the various levels of the card; the main event performers are clear, the middle of the card is packed, and those fighting for scraps at the bottom are giving everything they have for those crumbs.
The levels are clear, but everyone feels like an active participant in the show. The Beaver Boys were whipping boys for weeks before they eventually threw their lot in with the Dark Order, an insidious group that has also had its eye on QT Marshall and others. AEW Dark has been built-up as an important cog in the machine as opposed to a throwaway extra show. AEW feels like a collective effort where the legitimacy of the enhancement talent is as important as the credibility up top.
Compare that with TNA, a promotion that was quite literally created to act as a showcase for Jeff Jarrett. The early days were a conveyer belt of main events and X-Division showcases, quickly establishing two legs on which the promotion could stand but almost immediately abandoning the supporting cast. This only got worse as the years passed, and TNA soon followed the WWE model of ignoring the lower reaches of the card until something was needed.
AEW must not make this mistake.