Instead of having about 6 huge names that dominate 90% of every episode of Raw, TNA has the luxury of knowing they can push anyone at any time. There are more potential match combinations, more feuds that can spring out of nowhere, and more chances for the writing team to surprise and awe us.
Second, TNA doesn’t have to abide by a PG-rating. I feel that the WWE crossed the lines of decency for a long time — I don’t want to watch storylines about Lita having a miscarriage or Mae Young giving birth to a hand. But now they’ve completely over-corrected. My ability to suspend disbelief snaps like a Slim Jim when I see officials call timeout during a match if a wrestler gets cut open. While I don’t need rampant sexuality or excessive use of foul language, I can certainly handle it in moderation. Ideally, professional wrestling organizations toe the line between being violent, but not grotesque; sexy, but not obscene. Right now, TNA has found that balance. WWE, on the other hand… well, sometimes it feels just a bit too antiseptic for my tastes.
On a related note, WWE’s fear of blood allows TNA to appeal to fans of the hardcore wrestling style. Unfortunately, at the moment this has only resulted in 60-year-old legends cutting each other open and the unexpected reemergence of the Nasty Boys after a decade of obscurity, so let’s just move on.
I never thought I’d say this about a Bischoff-led creative team, but TNA has a better ability right now to spotlight their cruiserweights. Sure, the X Division doesn’t have a weight limit, but it gives guys like Brian Kendrick and Amazing Red an automatic motivation and meaningful storylines. Contrast this with someone like Matt Bourne, who’s respected by knowledgeable fans and popular every time he shows up in the ring… yet completely incapable of even being a legitimate mid-carder in the WWE. Instead I have to watch him get sacrificed to the Squash Gods against giant tools like Sheamus; Bourne was selling Sheamus’ offense so hard on the January 4th episode of Raw that it looked like he was performing kabuki theater.
When their contracts come up, Vince McMahon will have to expend resources on guys like Bourne and Shelton Benjamin, even though he knows he can’t give them legitimate pushes. Why? Because he’s terrified that they’ll go to TNA and shine.
While the big wrestling organizations have never lived and died by the ratings garnered during women’s fights, it seems undeniable to me that the Knockout Division is head and shoulders above the Divas at the moment. I have nothing against the WWE’s current collection of lingerie models: I can barely get through an episode of Raw without looking up Maryse’s studio photos. But the quality of the in-ring work simply is better over at TNA. ODB might not be good-looking enough to score airtime on WWE, but she’s a hell of a worker. I’m pretty sure you could put together an entire episode of Botchamania from about six Melina matches.
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