8 Times TNA Tried To Be WWE

In a moment of astonishing storyline theft the likes of which had not been seen since… well, AJ Styles the previous year, TNA took bearded comedy act and underdog babyface Eric Young, and transformed him into a fiery, never-say-die contender for the TNA Championship - right after Daniel Bryan won the title at WrestleMania XXX.

Young was, like Bryan, a fine popular but underappreciated performer for the company, but simply hadn’t been main event material until someone thought to check out what the competition were doing.

A nonsensical effort to cash in on the popularity of the Daniel Bryan storyline, this one came out of left field. There were no angles that built up to it, with the number one contendership position being won by Young on the same episode of free television that his title shot took place on.

TNA had already developed a reputation for half-inching gimmicks and stories from their distinguished competition, but this… this was the icing on the cake.