Impact Wrestling: Listing the Similarities Between TNA and WCW

The wrestling business has always been better when there is competition between two or three major companies.

At no point was this more apparent than during the infamous "Monday Night Wars" when WCW challenged the WWF's status as the premier wrestling company, beating Vince McMahon in the ratings for 84 straight weeks.

This was an era that would see the formation of the NWO, the rise of antiheroes like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock, as well as edgier product broadcasts by both companies.

But after WCW went out of business and Vince McMahon bought his competition, the quality of the storylines in the WWE suffered as a result.

Jeff Jarrett founded "TNA Wrestling" because he wanted to recreate that spirit of competition and because he wanted to give talented wrestlers, that would never be given a chance in WWE, a platform on which to make a name for themselves.

TNA has certainly grown as a company since its inception in 2001 with the investment of "Panda Energy" and the big-name signings of Kurt Angle, Mick Foley and Sting to name but a few.

But it is still a long way off presenting a legitimate challenge to the WWE and the cracks have begun to emerge in "Impact Wrestling".

The similarities with WCW have always been apparent, but recently, they have become more pronounced and have begun to hurt the product.

Something needs to be done if Jeff Jarrett's brainchild is not to go the same way as "World Championship Wrestling".

Here is a list of the main things TNA has in common with the defunct professional wrestling organization that was WCW.

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff

When Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff made their TNA debuts in January 2010, it was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era.

TNA was preparing to broadcast live on Monday nights; head to head with Raw and Hulk Hogan was supposed to draw the ratings.

But while some people may have tuned in out of curiosity to look into the "Hulkster's" new role in wrestling, it did not mark a sudden upturn in the ratings and the decision was eventually taken to go back to Thursday nights.

But Hogan and Bischoff have continued to take up valuable TV time and have constantly been in the limelight as on-air characters.

It seems that Bischoff and Hogan cannot step out of the spotlight and allow the younger generation to shine through.

It was the backstage politics and the constant in-fighting in WCW that both Bischoff and Hogan were heavily involved in, which made it an impossible place to go to work.

Sting and Ric Flair

Sting and Ric Flair are set to do battle this Thursday on Impact Wrestling, for what should be the last match in one of wrestling's great rivalries.

But with both men past their prime, a classic bout is not to be expected.

Sting and Ric Flair epitomized the foundation on which WCW was built and they were the men that deserved to be on top.

But now it is 2011 and Ric Flair, in particular, needs to move on and retire before he tarnishes his legacy still further.

Sting's latest "Joker" persona is perhaps his final attempt make the crowd interested in his work before he hangs up his boots for the last time. 

Other Former WCW Talent

Sting, Flair, Hogan and Bischoff are not the only links TNA has with WCW from a talent perspective.

In the past, Dixie Carter's company has been a breeding ground for former WCW talent with the likes of Diamond Dallas Page, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Scott Hall and Booker T all strutting their stuff in the "Impact Zone" at some point.

Jeff Jarrett is still a fixture on "Impact Wrestling" as the founder of the company and is now a multiple World Heavyweight Champion in his own brainchild.

Scott Steiner is another former WCW star that still has a prominent role to play on TNA's weekly programming.

World-Class Light Heavyweight Division

While WCW suffered heavily from overbooked main events and backstage politics in the Heavyweight division, the company's "Cruiserweight" division comprised some of the best wrestlers in the world at that point.

These men contributed to the famed strength of the WCW undercard and consistently produced great matches.

Men like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Rey Mysterio first made a name for themselves in the WCW "Cruiserweight" division.

The initial selling point of TNA was the "X-Division" and the matches from the weekly pay-per-view series blew peoples' minds.

The X-Division competitors revolutionized high-flying wrestling and set a new standard of high-risk matches that made the crowd gasp.

One of the many complaints former WCW talent had was the lack of storylines given to the cruiserweight wrestlers and Chris Jericho, in particular, cites this as his major reason for departing.

The TNA creative team has come under a lot of recent criticism for under-utilizing the multi-talented athletes that they have at their disposal.

However, the division currently seems to be going through a resurgence with the returns of seasoned veterans in Austin Aries and Kid Kash.

Vince Russo

Vince Russo's name is infamous in the world of professional wrestling as one of the most nonsensical writers of all time.

This is the man that booked himself to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship as well as Hollywood actor, David Arquette.

Russo's ideas have been ludicrous in the past and even now on Impact Wrestling, his influence as head writer can still be seen.

Some of the storylines in TNA do not make sense, are never explained or resemble old angles from WCW that never drew money to begin with.

It is my opinion that with Vince Russo in charge of booking, the company will never be able to grow and look to the future.

This was the man that played his part in the downfall of WCW and yet he still has a job in TNA, making the same mistakes that he did before.

Bloated Roster

The TNA roster has become incredibly bloated to the point where they can no longer give everyone television slots.

They have so many talented performers, such as Eric Young, but with only two hours of programming a week, it becomes impossible to give everyone a chance.

WCW had the same problem that they created for themselves by purchasing talent purely to ensure that Vince McMahon could not use them.

They had no plans for these wrestlers and usually the talent would make a lot of money without doing any work.

In TNA, the wrestlers are paid by appearance so that monetary problem does not exist, but the fact remains that they employ too many wrestlers.

Older Wrestlers Advanced over Younger Talent

WCW was notorious for keeping the same men on top and neglecting to promote younger talent.

It was a constant political battleground in which veterans like Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan thrived, and consistently "politicked" their way to the World Heavyweight title.

Ric Flair and Sting were constantly in the main event scene and while their wrestling pedigree cannot be questioned, there was never really a passing of the torch to the younger generation.

In TNA we are seeing the same wrestlers on top that have been on top for so many years, while the future stars of the company struggle to get on television.

Sting, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam have all recently held the World Heavyweight title in TNA and, while it is undeniable that they all have something left to contribute, their time is passing.

It is time for men like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, the Pope, Matt Morgan, Robert Roode, James Storm and Crimson to dominate the main event scene. 

Attempt to Make Crimson the New Goldberg

Crimson has been touted by many as the future of Impact Wrestling and he certainly has the look of a future champion.

His impressive physique and long winning streak have drawn inevitable comparisons with Goldberg, the man who holds the longest undefeated streak in professional wrestling.

The similarities between the booking of Crimson and Goldberg lead many to believe that TNA intends to push Crimson all the way to the top.

One Dominant Stable

What started as one of the hottest angles in wrestling history with the infamous Hulk Hogan heel turn, became an overbooked mess as seemingly everyone on the WCW roster enjoyed stints in the NWO.

When Hogan and Bischoff turned heel again at Bound for Glory 2010, they formed a stable known as "Immortal" that contained Jeff Hardy, Abyss, Ric Flair and the "Fortune Four".

The numbers of "Immortal" have been cut since then with the departure of the Hardys and the face turns of "Fortune".

But they still tend to dominate the show with over-long segments that last for up to 20 minutes before the actual wrestling starts. 

Disgruntled Talent

Mick Foley's recent departure from the company came about due to a situation where he criticized the TNA product to the chagrin of the company's management.

Samoa Joe has also reportedly been unhappy with the direction his recent storylines have taken and his lack of main event matches.

Joe used to be the brightest spark in TNA and he is clearly not content to take a back seat to rehashed WCW talent long past their best.

There were rumors that he was recently suspended for disagreeing with a creative booking decision and the "Samoan Submission Machine" has come down a long way, in the eyes of TNA management.

Disgruntled talent was one of the trademarks of WCW with many examples of wrestlers demanding their release.

The most high-profile case was the departure of Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, who could no longer deal with the shambolic running of the company.

The Signing of Former WWE Talent to Increase Ratings

WCW and Eric Bischoff signaled their intent to challenge Vince McMahon by using Ted Turner's millions to purchase a whole host of ex-WWF talent.

Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper and Curt Hennig all jumped ship before the "Outsiders", Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, made the switch that set in motion a turn of events that would lead to WCW's finest hour.

TNA has shown the same desire to sign former WWE wrestlers because they think that these men will ultimately increase the ratings.

The majority of the Impact Wrestling main event scene is made up of former WWE talent such as Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Mr Anderson and Kurt Angle.