Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

1. The Lay Of The Land Today

TNA Hulk Hogan Impact Monday Night Raw WWE
Impact Wrestling

After a rough few years, the former TNA is these days known as IMPACT Wrestling and has slowly gathered a reputation for putting on a good professional wrestling product.

In an industry shared with WWE and AEW, it's always going to be hard for IMPACT Wrestling to compete on a financial level - yet that hasn't stopped them from quietly making itself one of the most engaging wrestling promotions in the game right now.

Nowadays owned by Anthem and steered by the stewardship of Don Callis, Scott D'Amore, and Ed Nordholm, the former TNA has managed to shake off so much of the stink that it has been associated with it over the past 18 years.

Did TNA ever live up to the hype of some in regards to being a legitimate rival to WWE? Of course not, but that's not to say that the TNA years didn't have some great moments from some great talents and provided a spotlight for so many people to make a name for themselves.

Here in 2020, the current IMPACT Wrestling product is an impressive one, with the creative and storytelling usually way above what's seen in WWE. It may not be the biggest dog in the yard, but IMPACT Wrestling should be a welcome part of any wrestling fan's weekly viewing habits - even if this wasn't quite the great rival to WWE that some had hoped the company would become.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.