6 Similarities Between NXT Of Today And The TNA Of Yesterday
1. A Genuine Alternative To WWE
When Vince McMahon purchased WCW in 2001, the wrestling world was changed forever. Vince had bought out his only competition, and with ECW also going out of business wrestling fans went from having three options to just a single one.
Independent wrestling still existed of course, but for a large chunk of the audience their menu just got a whole lot smaller.
When TNA entered the fray, for the first time in a long time it seemed as though someone might just proved an alternative. TNA focused on the X-Division whilst WWE gawped at its giants.
Wrestling wasn't a dirty word, the competitors battled for a title belt without shame, and despite the ridiculousness of the odd story the company poked its head out of the hole to provide a genuine alternative for a little while.
This was too good to be true of course, and Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff soon arrived to ensure that TNA turned into something of a diet-WWE, stripped of all logic and using stars from a time long gone.
In 2016, NXT is in many ways the major alternative to main WWE programming. Yes, it exists under the same umbrella but the differences are clear for all to see. NXT has its own fanbase, its own feel, its own stars.
WWE responded to the lack of competition by creating its own. It doesn't provide any real pressure, but it does ensure that a percentage of a possibly disgruntled audience will stay with them.
TNA provided this once upon a time, just as it provided quality women's wrestling, a showcase for smaller non-WWE talent and a wrestling show from top to bottom.
NXT today is a lot like what TNA could have become if things had turned out differently, and that can be another addition to the large pile of professional wrestling 'what if's.