6 Similarities Between NXT Of Today And The TNA Of Yesterday

2. The Best Of The Best, The Best Of The Rest

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WWE.com

In 2016, NXT resembles something of an internet fans fantasy E-Fed dreamworld. The roster reads like a who's who of non-WWE main roster talent. Your main event scene consists of names like Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura, with Austin Aries lurking in the background. Bobby Roode is rumoured to be on his way, as is Kota Freakin' Ibushi. Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa have made regular appearances. NXT has become the place for the top indy talent to head towards.

This wasn't always the case however, and for a long time the WWE was interested only in growing its own stars. This meant that for those who made their name elsewhere, TNA was the only option with a decent profile and consistent TV. It thus became the place to be for top indy guys.

Looking back at old TNA PPVs throws many such names in your direction. Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Low Ki, Roderick Strong, Christopher Daniels, Jay Lethal and more all made their way to the company, with varying levels of success.

If a guy or gal made waves on the indy scene a decade ago, they would be spoke of as someone who really needed to make their way to TNA. This status now belongs to NXT.

Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.