2025 is TNA Wrestling’s Big Chance

At this point the battle for #1 supremacy in pro wrestling is done and WWE has retained the crown after its performance over the last four years. Now the question is which wrestling promotion has been the true alternative to WWE for wrestling fans who want something different. And while AEW likes to claim that they are the real alternative to the WWE, it’s becoming more and more clear that TNA has quietly been a better product.

In many ways this has become the mirror of ECW and WCW where WCW had the money, the billionaire wrestling fan and the bigger roster, ECW had the talent that was more passionate, resonated with the crowd and had good people working behind the scenes.

If you don’t believe me, just look at how both companies operate, how they are run and you will see how exactly how TNA is becoming the true alternative to the WWE.

It starts with the ownership and while AEW is run like a passion project by a billionaire’s son, TNA is run by Anthem Sports. At this point even the most diehard AEW fans can agree that Tony has hurt the product more than helped it with his behavior. From his endless Twitter spats and tweets, his inability to stop putting his foot in his mouth statements to his insistence to booking the entire show, Tony is the main reason for AEW’s problems.

Meanwhile Anthem Sports Leonard Asper has kept a very low profile and entrusted the booking and running of the promotion to capable people. Both Anthony Cicione
(President – TNA Wrestling) and Ariel Shnerer (Head of Creative – TNA Wrestling) have over a decade plus in television production and sports. They understand how to make a television product successful, how to reach audiences and what needs to be fixed.

Look at how they also have presented the wrestlers and some of them different things they have tried. From Decay to Violent by Design to the new storyline of Steve Maclin, TNA has tried to blend more cinematic approaches with the wrestling product. Partnering with NXT allowed them to understand how the gold standard in wrestling production operates and what it takes for the product to look presentable to television audiences. Even the TNA+ App has started to take off as it allows fans to watch archived footage, TNA specials and stream the show online.

Speaking of the TNA and NXT partnership, look at how well that has worked out so far for all parties. With Shawn Michaels running NXT, TNA has been presented as a legitimate wrestling promotion whose wrestlers can compete with NXT wrestlers. Shawn Michaels has done nothing but spoken positive things and treated TNA talents are fellow wrestlers.

When AEW partnered with TNA, it was mostly Tony Khan doing his “commercials” and making fun of the company. He wouldn’t even allow TNA to mock him back but instead just sit there and take it like a submissive dog.

We have also seen TNA start leaning into younger homegrown talent and get away from the ex-WWE stars coming in and dominating. Look at the current landscape at who TNA has been pushing recently and you can see the changes;

• Masha Slamovich (26 years old) is the current TNA Knockout champion.

• Ace Austin (27) challenging Moose for the TNA X Division title

• The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel, both 30) are being pushed as the top challengers for the TNA Tag Titles

• Leon Slater (20) and Heather by Elegance (24) have begun to get pushed on the program in the recent months.

Add in Tess Blanchard and you are starting to see TNA realize that the future is in younger wrestlers who are looking for opportunity.

And that’s what happens when you start embracing pushing more of your own talent rather than signing everyone that leaves the WWE.

AEW has fallen into the trap that established ex-WWE stars are the answers but it has cost them. With the additions of the Hurt Syndicate, Ricochet, Mercedes Mone and Adam Copeland, more of the younger and original AEW stars are falling by the wayside or getting pushed down the card.

AEW has ignored or depushed their younger talent to the point you worry about their future. Who else right now is thriving in AEW outside of ex-WWE stars or friends of The Elite? MJF seems mired in feuds with Daniel Garcia and Adam Cole that have done nothing to help him. Sammy Guevara has been relegated to Ring of Honor. Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs and Kamille have been reduced to catering or stuck as gatekeepers.

The only young rising star that AEW has created was Mariah May and even she feels overshadowed by Mercedes Mone. Mone has become the very thing that AEW fans hated in an ex-WWE star who has a cringe gimmick and goes over everyone.

The only advantage AEW has is the TV deal they got from WBD and even that could be taken away if AEW’s ratings continue to crash. When they had CM Punk the ratings are safely at 1 million to 900K per episode of Dynamite.

Now they are lucky if they hit over 600K for an episode. If they dip under 500K per episode, what is to stop WBD from cancelling the show? Look how many shows get cancelled year after year from Netflix, WBD, Amazon Prime, and other broadcasts networks.

Even watching an AEW show can be tedious as too often storylines last as long as a month before creative moves on. TNA has started to lean into telling more stories such as the rise of Joe Hendry, Moose holding the X Division hostage and now with Tess Blanchard’s return.

The biggest thing TNA has done to improve is leaning into WWE a bit more in how they produce the show. Despite what the TWL’s and other AEW defenders will tell you, wrestling fans don’t really want “Wrestling”. There are only so many times people can do body slams, clotheslines, superkicks and other moves before they becoming boring.

Fans want to feel invested in the product, the characters and be able to relate to what the character is. Dusty Rhodes said it so eloquently once when he said he wanted to make movies in the wrestling ring.

AEW had that in the beginning but now everything has become just match of the night and angles that have no payoff. TNA has slowly since D’Amore’s departure started leaning more into wrestlers who have characters and into younger talent.

For TNA in 2025, this is the year to turn things up with more changes that separated themselves for AEW. Already their merchandise numbers have gone up, they have announced bigger venues for some of their major locations. And the new TV deals with NESN in the United States and SportsNet in Canada can only help grow this company.

This could be the start of TNA officially not just being a true alternative to WWE, but starting to challenge AEW as the 2nd biggest wrestling company.

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