8 Misconceptions About TNA You Probably Believe
5. They Didn't Benefit From The AEW Partnership
You are ignorant to believe that TNA didn't emerge from its one-year AEW partnership all the more better for doing so, particularly as the falsehoods surrounding it are easily solved by reading an excerpt from an interview between Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp and Scott D'Amore, the former TNA President (h/t to Fightful):
“At the time, IMPACT was really struggling to [garner] traction. We were doing our damndest and putting out everything we could, but really struggling to find ourselves. Getting Kenny Omega as IMPACT World Champion and getting The Good Brothers featured on their [AEW's] show. From a business point of view, the two Kenny pay-per-views, were two of the three highest pay-per-views the company had at that point. Even the one with Christian when he came in was pretty high when it came to buys. There was a lift in business and viewership. A massive lift on social views and monetisation. Anything that was Kenny Omega monetized well. [...] Did it have its hindrance, as far as what some of the restraints were? Sure. That’s why it ultimately had to end. While we were doing it, there is no question from a financial point of view, it had its benefits. There is no question when it came to eyeballs, buzz and legitimacy, it certainly helped."
Inserting that quote isn't designed to eat into the word count; it's necessary information. April 2021's Rebellion, where Kenny Omega was hailed as the dual TNA and AEW World Champion, did nine times as many pay-per-views as the previous October's Bound For Glory, headlined by Rich Swann's triumph over Eric Young. TNA also achieved considerable boosts to its 18-49 demographic with Omega at the helm, a trait which continued well past his tyrannical reign over TNA.
The novelty of the partnership wore thin quickly for staunch TNA supporters, who tore into AEW and Tony Khan on social media for its lack of promoting the cross-promotional product, but who cares?
TNA was raking it in...