8 Most Valuable Assets WWE Could Take From A Deal With Impact Wrestling

2. ALL The Footage

TNA Lock Down Brock Lesnar Roman Reigns
ImpactWrestling.com

Not all of Impact Wrestling's complex past is really worth watching again, but then WWE once put live dogs between a steel cage and a Hell In A Cell and left it there to be watched forever on their own Network, so quality shouldn't really be a gauge for gobbling up the Global Wrestling Network.

WWE have already taken particular bits to augment various Network vehicles, but there's far more fun to be had by offering the vast archive as a tucked-away option next to WCW, ECW et al.

If anything, the carefully archived content protects, preserves and promotes the legacy of Impact Wrestling as much more than it actually was. ECW creatively helped dig wrestling out of its mid-1990s nadir, whilst WCW furnished the fanbase with two separate golden generations before WWE's grit won a war.

There's less of that to be found amongst some of TNA's turkeys, but the back catalogue isn't without pure pro wrestling beauty. AJ Styles became 'Phenomenal' on weekly pay-per-views in 2002, had match-of-the-year candidates with Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels and countless others years later, whilst occasional moments of clumsy and clueless comedy made some banter booking better than it otherwise would have been.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett