10 Ways AEW Is Nothing Like TNA
2. Talent In Its Prime, Not Over The Hill
Not only does AEW have a more talented roster than TNA ever did, but it also happens to have a roster of performers at the very top of their game in the prime of their careers. Very few individuals on the roster have their best days behind them, and even veterans like Dustin Rhodes and Chris Jericho seem to be reinventing themselves and improving all the time. Combine this hunger to get better with the ever-evolving skills of the inexperienced talent and you've got a recipe for delicious, delicious success.
The scary thing is that so many of AEW's roster can only get better, although it isn't entirely clear why that would be scary. MJF is already one of the best heels in the pro wrestling, despite being just 24-years-old. Hangman Page was well on his way to becoming the company's top babyface before the coronavirus pandemic ground his journey to a halt, but the 28-year-old has plenty of gas in the tank. Darby Allin, Fenix and Sammy Guevara are all under 30; PAC, Cody, Jon Moxley and both Bucks are all 35 or under.
The early days of TNA were punctuated by matches featuring over the hill performers like Ken Shamrock, Rick Steiner, Scott Hall and more, iconic names that were more valuable than the battered bodies they inhabited. It led to miserable matches, slow exercises in boredom that almost always had to be saved by dusty finishes and broken guitars, although the use of the word 'saved' isn't entirely accurate.
AEW has endless opportunities afforded to it by a roster that is in or approaching its prime. TNA was fighting a losing battle from the get-go, its premier talent having to carry the bloated ghosts of wrestling's past.