Slammiversary: WWE and TNA Competition Isn't so Far-Fetched

As a TNA follower who heavily criticized the product since the beginning, I must say that Slammiversary definitely pulled out all the stops. The live, intense crowd, the five-star quality matches and the crowd-pleasing finishes were all the ingredients needed to label this PPV as the best one of the year, including those of the WWE.

Slammiversary showed that TNA has what it takes to lessen the rival gap between the two main promotions. Although TNA will not be the No. 1 company anytime soon, here are a few things that could be done to strengthen the competition.

Get Away from the Impact Zone

I remember the days of the NWA where the show was done in a relatively small studio every week, and it seems like wrestlers were an arm length away from the announcers table, which consisted of Tony Schiavone and David Crockett.

That is nostalgic, and it worked during its time.

On the contrary, the TNA Impact Zone's housing of the Impact wrestling shows every week is one of the main factors hindering its ability to ascend as quickly as it could. The events do not have to be at a different location every week, but at least, cut the Impact Zone appearances in half.

Showcase the X Division More

The X Division is one of the unique factors that TNA had over WWE. The quality of matches are stellar, and it is a wrestling purist's oasis.

During the Hogan/Bischoff era, the division has not received the opportunity to shine. This is a problem. The current champion, Austin Aries, is the perfect person to totally revamp the division. Although his self-proclaimed "Greatest Man that Ever Lived" monicker is a bit overboard, he is undoubtedly one of the best active wrestlers in the world today.

Bringing back some of the ones that made it popular, such as Jerry Lynn, Petey Williams, Jay Lethal (currently in ROH), Shark Boy and Amazing Red would be a good investment.

Making this division prominent again would gain a considerable amount of momentum in TNA's quest to top the WWE.

Groom New Main-Eventers

Placing the company on Bobby Roode's shoulders was one of the best decisions that TNA has made in recent history. It gives a TNA-bred wrestler an opportunity to be a star.

TNA should capitalize on this decision, and push more wrestlers in a similar manner who have been a part of TNA for a while. It has worked for James Storm.

Magnus, Christopher Daniels, Austin Aries and Chris Sabin are only a few of many wrestlers that can be in the main event spotlight. Even Eric Young, with all his quirkiness, could be placed in a few main-event matches. He has a very popular fan base and would definitely have the crowd cheering for him.

Although veterans such as Sting, Angle, Hardy and Anderson are essential for the growth of the company, pushing in-house talent would be a good decision.

Have Better Storylines

The infamous "10/10/10" storyline was one of the most cliffhanging moments in the history of TNA. Every week, viewers saw Abyss screaming that date around the Impact Zone, and to other wrestlers, as a sign to beware.

The angle had anticipation levels similar to WWE's "Higher Power" and "Undertaker's Stalker" angles. Unfortunately, the culmination of the angle (who Abyss referred to as "they") was simply Jeff Hardy aligning himself with Jeff Jarrett, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

Major flop.

If TNA doesn't have what it takes to deliver on major storylines such as "10/10/10," they should stick to storylines that have potential to grow. Currently we see that in the Bully Ray/Joseph Park (Abyss) angle.

Acquire Talent from the WWE

Now, this may be heavily criticized due to many people disapproving WWE talent jumping to TNA, but there is an advantage in doing so.

Take a look at both Christian and R-Truth. Both of their careers in the WWE before they jumped ship to TNA were on a decline. Christian was getting burned out and reached a glass ceiling as a heel, and R-Truth was "getting rowdy" as K-Kwik.

A solid TNA tenure and a combined four NWA World Heavyweight championships later, both of them are current title holders in the WWE and have been featured in PPV main events. R-Truth has been a U.S. Champion and WWE Tag Team champion since his return. Christian has been an ECW, IC and World Heavyweight Champion since his return.

The old adage, "You Don't Know What You Got 'Til It's Gone," applied to both of these superstars.

Underutilized and misdirectioned superstars such as Tyson Kidd, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger and even Dolph Ziggler could easily be main-eventers in TNA.

What are your thoughts?

This topic will be discussed more on the "Pancakes and Powerslams" wrestling talk show this Tuesday (and every Tuesday) at 11pm ET. Feel free to call in live in front of a national audience. The number is [phone]. Click here for link to the show.

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