10 Wrestling Pay-Per-Views That Tried Something... Different
1. TNA Weekly PPV #1
For the first two years of its life, TNA existed solely on PPV. On Wednesday 19th June 2002, NWA-TNA (as it was known) aired "Weekly PPV #1" for fans to buy at the cost of just $9.99. The two-hour show featured talent such as AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Psicosis, Ken Shamrock, Scott Hall, and, of course, Jeff Jarrett.
The show closed with Shamrock defeating Malice (formerly "The Wall" in WCW) to win the vacant NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, beginning a new era for that belt and for the world of wrestling in general. TNA would put out 114 "Weekly PPVs" until it switched focus to its new cable TV show, Impact!, which, against all odds, still runs to this day.
The Weekly PPVs allowed TNA to find its footing in its early years without the need for a TV deal. It gave the promotion time to establish a fanbase and to build up stars so that, by the time it finally hit our screens, it had a captive audience ready to watch it. It may not have seemed like much special at the time, but those Weekly PPVs actually played a very important part in shaping wrestling's modern make-up.