Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival
Examining whether the current day IMPACT Wrestling was ever a genuine rival to WWE.
For nearly two decades, WWE dominated the pro wrestling business as Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut essentially turned the business into a one-horse race.
While McMahon's WWE did its best to monopolise the industry, one plucky upstart promotion to rear its head was what is now known as IMPACT Wrestling. Initially NWA-TNA, then just TNA, and now IMPACT, there was always that hope early in the promotion's formation that this was a company that could rise up to somehow compete with the glitz, glamour, and finances of Vinny Mac's WWE.
To some, TNA was at one stage a genuine rival to WWE. To others, TNA never got even close to laying a glove on WWE.
You can make your own mind up on where you stand on that topic, but there's no question that TNA certainly had its fair shares of highs and lows - and those highs were ridiculously high, and those lows were likewise devastatingly low.
In the latest edition of our semi-regular Exposing the Myth series, let's take a look at whether TNA ever really was a true and genuine rival to WWE.
10. The Humble Beginnings
After WWE had beaten down WCW to the point that Vince McMahon was able to pick up Ted Turner’s rasslin’ company for a relatively modest fee, the wrestling world – at least in the North American sense – seemed destined to become a monopoly.
That WCW buyout happened in early 2001, but a year later came the rumblings of a new kid on the block. That new kid, of course, would be what was initially known as NWA: Total Nonstop Action, aka NWA-TNA.
Created by the father and son duo of Jerry and Jeff Jarrett, NWA-TNA was hoping to rise up to fill the void left by WCW’s demise. The promotion was able to use the National Wrestling Alliance branding and even NWA championships thanks to a licensing deal that was in place, and the plan was clearly to tap into the audience left stranded after WCW closed its doors.
Leaning on the three letters of the NWA brand of yesteryear, TNA had set its stall out when it came to the approach the promotion was going to take. Could that possibly ever get anywhere even close to matching WWE, though? That was the big question.