15 Misconceptions About AEW You Probably Believe

2. “TNA Could Be The #2 Promotion Soon”

Some critics and journos - members of the media with actual followings, to whom some people pay attention - are of the belief that Total Non-Stop Action holds the potential to take over AEW as the #2 promotion in the United States of America.

This is, in a word, mental.

TNA, fairly or otherwise, is stigmatised in some wrestling circles as a punchline, in that its mere continued existence is considered incredulous. On one level, it’s impressive that TNA has survived this long. That would not be possible without a small yet devoted following. But come on: it is not overtaking AEW.

TNA lacks stars and the ability to create stars, and what’s more, any star they might build is probably headed to WWE. Joe Hendry is a star. Jordynne Grace is a star. Mike Santana is becoming a star. What links those three names?

TNA is closer in purpose (and scale!) to EVOLVE than AEW, in that it’s the step many now take before entering WWE developmental proper.

Honestly, the state of wrestling discourse is so poor that some people need to be reminded of the most elementary of facts - and these are the people who are meant to be authoritative.

Wrestling promotions require stars to be successful. TNA will lose every star they build.

Television networks are increasingly desperate for a hit. If TNA was worth the big investment, one network would have looked at AEW and fancied a bit of that Nielsen action. How does this narrative even happen? Is it because TNA will draw an impressive house every now and then, and a well-shot photo of the crowd does the rounds on Twitter?

Because it’s not actual data driving this. Every conceivable metric indicates that TNA is in no position whatsoever to negotiate a game-changing media rights deal.