10 Reasons Why TNA Never Became Serious Competition for WWE

The rumors of a possible sale of TNA Wrestling have been going strong lately, and things intensified Wednesday when WrestleZone.com's Justin LaBar tweeted that WWE is purchasing TNA's video library.

LaBar also noted Billy Corgan would become the new majority owner of TNA, taking over for Dixie Carter and rebranding the show with a new image.

Keep in mind, this is all speculation and rumors at this point. Neither WWE nor TNA has confirmed the deal as of this writing.

TNA has long been considered the second-biggest wrestling promotion in the United States, but the company has never actually come close to being real competition for Vince McMahon and Co.

There were times when TNA seemed to be on the rise, but despite employing some of the best wrestlers in the world, it never offered as much of an obstacle for WWE as WCW did at the turn of the century.

This slideshow will look at 10 reasons why TNA was never serious competition for WWE.

10. The Setting

When TNA first launched, shows were produced at the Tennessee State Fair Sports Arena in Nashville, but it eventually moved to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Filming every episode in the same location helped save on expenses and allowed talents to stay in one place without having the hectic travel schedule that WWE Superstars have to deal with.

However, this also kept the company from building the kind of nationwide fanbase it was looking to create, because people are less likely to invest in a promotion if they can't see it live outside of Florida.

TNA eventually started touring more often, but it was too late to salvage what was already a sinking ship. The company ended up returning to Universal Studios in 2013, which is where it has stayed ever since.

If any company hopes to compete with WWE, it has to visit every state so people can see their favorite Superstars live, and TNA just didn't have the budget to sustain such a costly expense.

9. Smaller Crowds

The most noticeable difference between an episode of Impact Wrestling and WWE Raw is the size of the crowd. TNA can house a thousand fans at most in the studio, while WWE can fit several thousand more into every arena it visits.

A smaller crowd can seem more intimate, but only hardcore fans actually care about that. Casual fans relate the size of a crowd to the popularity of the product.

NXT may film in a smaller venue at Full Sail University, but that's just WWE's developmental territory, and when it leaves Florida for a TakeOver special, the arenas always appear to sell out.

When TNA first started touring the country, it had a few big crowds, but the numbers eventually dropped to the point where the company could no longer justify renting out big arenas.

8. Nobody Can Match WWE's Production Value

When it comes to pro wrestling and live sports in general, no company in the world can match WWE's production value.

Raw, SmackDown, NXT and every pay-per-view are slick and polished products. Every little detail is covered by someone on the staff of over 100 people who make the show possible.

TNA was trying to emulate many of the techniques WWE uses every week, and since founder Jeff Jarrett worked for both WWE and WCW for years, he knew what went into making the show.

However, it takes a lot of money to do what WWE does every week. Whether it's the camera work, video packages, pyrotechnics, commentary or over-the-top stage, WWE is miles ahead of everyone else.

It took years for WWE to perfect what has become a well-oiled machine, and it's impossible to imagine any other company matching it without Ted Turner's checkbook.

7. Ridiculous Stipulations

WWE has had its fair share of dumb matches over the years, but when it comes to stipulations, TNA is the master of awful concepts.

Take the King of the Mountain match for example. The only way to win is to climb a ladder and hang up the title being contested instead of taking it down like in a standard ladder match.

To make things even more confusing, in order to be eligible to hang up the title, one must pin an opponent first, with the person who was pinned being confined to a penalty box for two minutes.

TNA has developed numerous other ridiculous stipulations we don't have room to get into here, with one of the most ludicrous being the Ultimate X match.

Sure, these bouts often feature some great spots, but being able to perform a few cool moves should never be a reason to design a strange stipulation.

6. The Six-Sided Ring

Despite trying to copy many of WWE's methods for doing business, TNA did do one thing to make itself stand out: It used a six-sided ring.

The hexagon may have been a fun gimmick at first, but being unique didn't actually make it any better or safer for the wrestlers.

Sean Waltman shared his thoughts about the design back in 2014 on Twitter: "The 6 sided ring might look special, but it's actually way more dangerous. The angle of the ropes in the corners isn't 90 degrees."

On top of that, the ring is actually smaller than WWE's standard 400-square foot design. It's as if someone chopped off the corner of the ring at a weird angle.

TNA eventually started using a standard four-sided ring, but for some strange reason, the company opted to bring back the hexagon in 2014.

5. Impact Was on the Wrong Channel

WWE airs most of its programming on the USA Network, which is available in just about every home in America with the most basic cable or satellite providers.

TNA has been on several different networks, with each getting less distribution than the last. When the company moved to Pop TV, some people had to increase their TV package in order to see the show.

It's not always easy to find a major network that is willing to carry your program, but if TNA had been on a more recognizable channel, the ratings might have been high enough to keep the company profitable.

Even Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground have managed to survive on networks with less distribution than USA, so it's not like TNA is the only promotion dealing with this issue.

4. Vince Russo

Ever since his involvement with WCW, a dark cloud has been following Vince Russo wherever he goes, and it stayed with him through his time in TNA.

Just hearing about his involvement with TNA was enough to turn off some fans, especially when he started appearing on television as an authority figure.

Russo has a great mind for the wrestling business, but when he was in WWE, he had Vince McMahon to filter his ideas through to weed out the bad ones. 

Without someone to refine his ideas, Russo ended up making some questionable booking decisions. TNA's failure is not all his fault, but his involvement instantly put a stigma on the whole product. 

3. Taking WWE's Leftovers

When people were jumping ship between WCW and WWE, they were mostly still big names with drawing power and many years left in their career.

However, TNA always seemed to jump at the chance to snatch up any former WWE Superstars, whether they were successful or not.

Trying to bring in viewers with recognizable names is smart, but Carter should have used more logic when deciding which talents to sign.

Getting guys such as Christian, Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley helped, but for every Superstars worthy of being world champion, TNA also hired 10 guys who were either past their prime or weren't that good to begin with.

To save time, we won't even get into how bad a decision it was to bring in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff just when the company was starting to do well for itself. 

2. Jeff Jarrett

Before WCW launched Nitro on Monday nights to compete with Raw, it still had a long list of legendary Superstars.

Guys such as Ric Flair, Sting, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan were still in their prime when WCW rebranded itself from being a company under the NWA banner to being its own national brand.

When TNA launched, its biggest star was Jeff Jarrett. Double J is a great wrestler who has done a lot for the business, but he is no Flair.

At one point, it almost seemed like he created a promotion just so he could make himself a world champion, something he never achieved in WWE.

The original roster was filled with incredible talents such as AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Low Ki, but all of those guys have either left for greener pastures or quit the wrestling business altogether.

TNA just didn't have the star power it needed early on to succeed, and when big names finally showed up, interest from the general public had already started to wane.

1. Dixie Carter Is No Vince McMahon

Many wrestling promoters have come and gone over the years, but the one constant has always been Vince McMahon.

Carter isn't the first person to go after the WWE empire, but like everyone before her, McMahon was able to survive and persevere.

The main difference between them, other than age and gender, is experience. McMahon grew up in the business watching his father run the company, while Carter chose to get into the wrestling business in 2002.

She surrounded herself with former WWE employees such as John Gaburick, but her own inexperience prevented her from running a successful promotion.

TNA has produced some great wrestling over the years, but good matches aren't enough to make a company profitable. WWE understood this and diversified itself into a multimedia conglomerate.

If the rumors are true and Corgan does end up becoming the majority owner of TNA, let's hope he finds a way to keep it afloat because the wrestling world needs more than one major promotion.

What do you think? Did TNA ever stand a chance against the giant known as WWE?