Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

6. The Varied Roster

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impactwrestling.com

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.

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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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.