Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

6. The Varied Roster

TNA Hulk Hogan Impact Monday Night Raw WWE
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At times, it could be argued that TNA had the best overall, most varied roster in professional wrestling.

That in itself is obviously an extremely bold statement, but the wrestlers involved with the company in the late 2000s back up that claim.

In Sting, there was a genuine icon of years gone by who could still go. In Kurt Angle, there was one of the absolute best in the world. In the Knockouts ranks, performers like Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were allowed to show why women's wrestling could be just as good as men's wrestling when afforded the chance. In AJ Styles, Christian, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, and Frankie Kazarian, there were talents who could have a great match with anyone. In Abyss, there was a legitimately great, violent monster. In teams like Team 3D, Beer Money, LAX, and the Motor City Machine Guns, TNA had a tag team division to rival anybody. And veterans like Mick Foley, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash had name value with more casual wrestling fans.

Of course, the big test of whether TNA really could legitimately compete with WWE was waiting just around the corner.

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.