Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

9. The Initial Plan Of Attack

TNA Hulk Hogan Impact Monday Night Raw WWE
Impact Wrestling

It was clear that the fledgling NWA-TNA couldn't match WWE in terms of a TV presence, and so the early plan of attack for the Jarretts was to deliver a weekly PPV product.

Originally held from Huntsville, Alabama's Von Braun Center and then the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, the sixth of these weekly PPV offerings saw TNA move to Nashville's Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena - better known as the TNA Asylum, and a venue that would house TNA shows for the next two years.

Where the talent was concerned, TNA looked to utilise stars - such as Ken Shamrock, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall, and Jerry Lynn - with pre-existing name value from their time in other promotions, while also putting a spotlight on younger, lesser-known names.

You just know that Jeff Jarrett was dying to make himself the company's inaugural World Champion, but it would be Shamrock who was crowned the first ever NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era after defeating Malice, aka the former Wall of latter-day WCW, in the finals of a Gauntlet for the Gold tournament.

Still, it would only be five months until Jarrett did get his hands on the Ten Pounds of Gold - with Double J defeating Ron Killings to become the third person to hold NWA-TNA's greatest prize.

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.