TNA: 10 Reasons Impact Is a Better Show Than Raw and Smackdown Right Now

The last few months have been a transitional time for TNA Wrestling.

Hulk Hogan has been absent since Bound For Glory. Sting has taken on an authority role and, since, has only appeared in in-ring action once.

This has lead to Bobby Roode, "Cowboy" James Storm, Austin Aries, Bully Ray, Gunner, Garrett Bischoff and a rejuvenated Jeff Hardy all being featured prominently and bringing with them a freshness that was previously missing from the show.

The TNA Knockouts are back to doing what they do best: wrestling. Knockouts and Tag Team Champion Gail Kim has returned and appears to have found her pre-WWE passion for the sport. Madison Rayne, Mickie James, Velvet Sky, ODB, Angelina Love, Winter, Tara, and Brooke Tessmacher have fans excited about the women's division for the first time since the original Kim-Kong encounters in 2007 and 2008.

While there will always be a stigma attached to the company because of its uneven and chaotic past in terms of storytelling, TNA has hit its stride and is firing on nearly all cylinders.

And while the bigger, multi-million dollar empire that is WWE has stumbled in recent months, with inconsistent storylines and questionable booking, Impact Wrestling has quietly become the best wrestling show on North American television.

Here are 10 reasons why.

Bruce Prichard Replaces Vince Russo as Head of Creative

Why yes, Brother Love is the new head of TNA creative.

Back in October, just prior to Bound For Glory, reports surfaced stating former WWE employee (and noted Vince McMahon confidant) Bruce Prichard had taken the reigns of TNA's creative team from long-time head writer Vince Russo.

Some wondered exactly what consequences would come from he decision. If the last three months of television are any indication, those consequences have been largely positive.

Since Prichard took over, the company's Impact Wrestling program has become more focused. Nearly every Superstar on the roster has some sort of character or storyline, a strength of predecessor Vince Russo. There are well-defined storylines, interesting characters, and intriguing developments from week-to-week.

It remains to be seen how much Prichard contributes personally or if he is simply oversees Russo and the rest of the team. Regardless, the creative unit he heads has been responsible for the best TNA product since 2006.

Vince Russo Can Be Vince Russo

Vince Russo is as responsible for the WWE's success during the Attitude Era as anyone. The architect of the "Crash TV" nature that made the company's shows so popular, Russo brought an edginess to pro wrestling it had never before experienced.

As important as he was to the company, however, even he had a boss.

Vince McMahon was, at all times, the emperor of the creative team. Russo was head writer but every idea he came up with had to pass through the mighty McMahon's office. Boss man Vince oversaw the ideas, green-lighting the good ones and dumping those that were, well, not so good.

When TNA hired Russo to head up their creative team, they failed to understand what made Russo so good in the first place. As the lead writer, Russo had no one to watch over him, to reign him in when his ideas were no good or too radical. Thus, TNA's shows became far-too-chaotic.

Too many storylines and angles were forced into a single show and, by the time a weekly episode of Impact concluded, fans had a hard time digesting and remembering everything that happened.

For that reason alone, the "demotion" of Vince Russo should not be viewed as a negative. Now, he can do what he does best: write interesting characters, exciting and intriguing storylines, and focus on creating something for every wrestler on the roster while Prichard decides what will and will not make the final script.

Return of the X-Division

It is no secret that TNA's focus on the X-Division has either been its greatest strength or its most glaring weakness.

The company's attention on the division that supposedly sets it apart from its competition has wavered from time to time. Since former Ring of Honor great Austin Aries arrived, the X-Division has regained its legitimacy as well as its focus.

Aries headlines a division that includes a mix of young, inexperienced-yet-exciting rookies and seasoned, grizzled veterans looking to leave their mark on last time. Kid Kash, Brian Kendrick, Zema Ion, Jesse Sorensen and Anthony Neese have all impressed in recent outings.

The return of Alex Shelley on the January 19 edition of Impact Wrestling adds another wrinkle to the rebounding division.

A highly-talented, extremely popular member of the roster, Shelley has the ability to go toe-to-toe not only in the ring with Champion Aries but also on the microphone. The impending story and matches accompanying this rivalry will undoubtedly be some of the finest television in the wrestling world.

Authority Figure Sting > Sting the Wrestler in 2012

Sting's best days between the ropes are behind him.

It is no secret. While TNA has often trotted him out to help boost buyrates or to solidify the main events of their biggest shows, Sting's best match came in a highly-choreographed schmozz against Hulk Hogan at Bound For Glory. And with the company embracing the younger Jeff Hardy, James Storm, and Bobby Roode as three of its top stars, Sting cannot be reasonably expected to keep up with them inside the squared circle.

But Sting still has entertainment value left. He clearly still has a passion for the wrestling business and the relatively young roster can only benefit from having him around.

His interactions with Bobby Roode and Madison Rayne have made for both entertaining and, in Rayne's case, hilarious television.

And in a world where every wrestling company must have some sort of visible authority figure, Sting fills the role. He is an experienced performer, has a strong connection with fans and fills the role better than the camera-shy Dixie Carter (who is often good in her brief appearances).

Sting's presence from here on out will only help the TNA product...as long as the writing of his character makes none of the new main event talent look weak and he stays FAR away from the actual wrestling part of the business.

Gail Kim Comes Home

Gail Kim built the Knockouts division from the ground up. While her matches with Awesome Kong are fondly remembered by nearly everyone that has seen them—and Kong gets a lot of credit for legitimizing the division—it was Gail who constantly petitioned TNA management to start a women's division.

When she left TNA in 2008, it was considered a major loss for the company and its blossoming Knockouts division. During her embarrassingly bad stint with WWE, the Knockouts division segued from featuring hard-hitting, high-impact wrestling and moved closer to character-driven storylines.

Gail's return means a return to wrestling in the Knockouts division. A recent string of matches with Mickie James has reintroduced TNA fans to the women's wrestling matches they so loved once upon a time. Mickie's matches with Madison Rayne have also drawn rave reviews.

Add to that Gail's ability to carry just about any woman in the sport to a good match when she wants to and you have the potential for a wrestling renaissance within the Knockouts division.

The current storyline involving Gail, Madison Rayne and Mickie James has provided great matches and angles and reminded fans there is life outside of models, 30-second matches and celebrity bloggers.

Diverse Knockouts Division

Speaking of the Knockouts division...

The current crop of TNA Knockouts populate a roster that is the most diverse and, perhaps, the best since the so-called "golden age" of women's wrestling in the early-to-mid 2000s WWE.

That roster featured the likes of Trish Stratus, Jazz, Victoria, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Nidia, Ivory and Stacy Keibler. There was a wide array of talents and women's wrestling prospered because of it.

Every week, fans could expect to see a competitive match featuring the women of WWE, who happened to be trained by the great Dave "Fit" Finlay.

Today's Knockout roster is a lot like the Divas roster from the glory years. There is a tremendous collection of talented in-ring workers (Mickie James, Gail Kim, Madison Rayne, Tara, Winter and Sarita), a tremendous character (ODB), beautiful blonds (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and constantly improving young women (Rosita and Brooke Tessmacher).

The Knockouts are regularly among the top ratings draws in TNA and with increased storytelling and continually strong in-ring performances, that will likely continue.

"Cowboy"

James Storm is the type of performer that every wrestling company on the face of the earth would die to get their hands on.

He is a relatable character, the redneck Tennessee cowboy who loves drinking beer and kicking ass. He is true to himself, speaks his mind and, most importantly, never sounds fake or rehearsed.

Storm is a TNA original, a wrestler who overcame "Jannetty Syndrome" and proved to be the real breakout star of America's Most Wanted. When his first singles push proved to be disappointing, he went with the flow and made a union with Bobby Roode, in a team known as Beer Money—one of the most successful acts in TNA history.

"Cowboy" is a survivor. When something did not work out in his favor, he worked to make the thing that came his way a success. He is a rare performer, one who not only was a member of one all-time-great tag team but two.

Now James Storm is being rewarded for his years of hard work and it is clicking with the fans. His genuine, redneck renegade character is as popular as any this side of Jeff Hardy

After years of serving admirably in the tag division, he is poised to be World Heavyweight Champion on a number occasions in the years to come.

Fresh Main Event Scene

One of the constant complaints about WWE is its stale core of main event performers. It always seems as though John Cena, Randy Orton, Kane, Big Show, and upon return, The Undertaker and Triple H are always at the center of the WWE's top storylines.

They receive the focus of creative team most often and, as a result, the same matches and rivalries are featured on WWE television.

TNA boasts a relatively fresh and exciting main event scene.

While Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle are established stars, James Storm, Bobby Roode and Bully Ray have allowed given fans new, interesting match-ups. Hardy and Angle's interaction with Storm and Roode have created two of the better top programs in wrestling today.

Bully Ray has evolved into the best heel in pro wrestling and no longer feels out of place mixing it up with the top stars in TNA.

Add to those stars AJ Styles, who appears every now and then in the TNA title picture, and a returning Mr. Anderson and you have a diverse crop of talent that hasn't dominated television for the past decade.

Jeff Hardy

A motivated Jeff Hardy is among the most exciting, entertaining and electrifying performers in all of professional wrestling.

After an embarrassing turn of events early in 2011, Hardy found himself at home, facing legal problems and unsure whether or not he would ever have another shot at performing in the wrestling business again.

Then he married long-time girlfriend Beth. And had a child. He cleaned himself up and was given the opportunity to return to TNA.

Since then, fans have been witness to career rejuvenation for Hardy. He is as good now as he was in his last stint with WWE in 2009. His matches with Bobby Roode thus far have been very good and Hardy has given a sense of legitimacy to Roode and his title reign.

Hardy has also accepted the role of TNA's fan-friendly ambassador. Signing hundreds of autographs at each of TNA's live events and posing for photos immediately after his match, he is the company's answer to the "people's champion."

There will be those fans that never forgive Hardy for his past screw-ups. Who could blame them?

There have been millions of fans that have put their faith in Hardy, only to be rewarded with drug arrests and situations like that at Victory Road, when he appeared in no shape to wrestle. There only so many times that someone can let their fans down before those fans turn their back on the performer. That much is understood.

But unlike Jeff's brother Matt, there is something likeable about Jeff that keeps fans coming back to support him. He is wrestling's answer to a rock star. The females in the audience love him and the guys appreciate him because he is cool. He does things in the ring no one else can. He's laid back, never tells you how great he is, and is down-to-earth.

One of the most controversial individuals in the history of the sports, it is Jeff Hardy's re-dedication to his profession and the excitement and energy that accompanies his performances that makes him one of TNA's greatest assets.

Fans

A wrestling product is only as good as its fans. If the audience does not care, the product will ALWAYS suffer.

Perhaps the greatest strength of TNA Impact is the Impact Zone audience. Now, I understand there will be plenty of readers commenting that the Impact Zone has become stale and TNA should take their show on the road more often. And I understand where those readers would be coming from. There is something about different arenas and different fans that makes the product feel more exciting.

But ask yourself this: would anyone ever say ECW absolutely HAD to branch out of the ECW Arena in Philadelphia?

The answer is no.

The fans in Philadelphia had the most passion for the ECW product. They knew the characters, appreciated the work and understood the storylines. They were the most vocal fans the company had because they believed ECW to be theirs and theirs alone.

The Impact Zone is very much the same way.

Sure, there are always a few vacationers who know nothing about wrestling and are there to have fun. But every set of tapings, the same group of fans show up to passionately cheer on their favorites, boo their least favorites and take the ride with the performers as the storylines take their latest twists and turns.

The fans in Orlando have grown with the performers. They appreciate their work more than fans elsewhere because they believe TNA is their organization. All one has to do is watch crowd reactions in some of TNA's traveling pay-per-views and see that those fans, not necessarily as familiar with everything associated with TNA, are not as vocal or "into" the product like the Impact Zone fans.

The studio feel, as opposed to the arena feel, makes the TNA program feel different from the arena-touring WWE. It is more intimate.

There will never again be an atmosphere matching that of the ECW arena. That fan base was a vocal, as blood-thirsty, and as passionate about the sport of professional wrestling as any audience before and any since.

But the Impact Zone is TNA's own little fan base, its television home base, and one of the major differences between it and WWE's shows.

Conclusion

This is not, and never was meant to be, an indictment on WWE's current product. As a fan of professional wrestling since I was three-years-old, this writer has, is and always will be a WWE fan above anything else.

It is no secret that there have been hundreds of articles on this site and others, pointing out all of the negatives about WWE and TNA programming. This is not one of those articles, either.

This is an article giving credit to TNA Wrestling for presenting a product that has finally realized some of its potential. For the first time since their creation ten years ago, they have presented a product that rivals WWE's quality.

The storylines are coherent, the main event scene is refreshing, the X-Division is focused and the women's division is allowed to shine. Everything on the show has a purpose and everyone a character. For that reason, as well as those touched upon throughout this slideshow, TNA wrestling has overtaken Raw and Smackdown as the best wrestling show on national television.

Credit: All photos used within, except Brother Love (WWE) belong to TNA Wrestling/Lee South Photography