TNA Wrestling: 5 Things TNA Can Do to Give Themselves a Unique Identity

When you think of things TNA Wrestling could do in order to evolve their brand, there's a number of ideas that probably come to mind, including more promotion and new creative ideas.

However, one thing that I think would really help TNA is to create their own identity. 

When you think of TNA, what comes to mind?

There really isn't a lot of unique things outside of Lockdown and the X Division.

When you think of World Wrestling Entertainment, you have WrestleMania, Hell In A Cell, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, etc.

When you thought of World Championship Wrestling, you thought of the Cruiserweights, War Games and Starrcade.

TNA needs to produce its own identity the same way its rivals have—an identity that is not only unique, but that appeals to wrestling fans and has the potential to attract casual fans.

Here are five things I think TNA can do to accomplish that.

1. Bring Back the King of the Mountain

At one time, TNA had a few unique concepts that were helping them forge an identity.  One of those things was the annual King of the Mountain Match at Slammiversary.

TNA fans should remember the match—a reverse ladder match with a penalty box that wrestlers had to go in if they were pinned.  Granted, the match was a little odd, but the concept was sound.

Eliminate the reverse ladder factor—instead of climbing to put the belt on the rung, just stick to climbing the ladder to get the item—and you have a pretty good annual event.

The match can serve as an answer to the Royal Rumble and/or Money in the Bank match from the WWE.  The one thing that has always stood out to me in those matches were the number of guys involved that you knew had no chance to actually win the match.

King of the Mountain was usually five to six wrestlers, all of which with a decent chance to possibly win the match.  If done right, the build could make all wrestlers involved viable contenders.

The winner of the match should get a title shot.  TNA should have four major Pay-Per-Views: Slammiversary, Lockdown, Bound for Glory and Against All Odds (more on this in a minute).

Give the Slammiversary winner the title shot at Against All Odds.

Revamp the TV Title Division with Unique Rules

Anyone who follows TNA knows the TV Title has been a problem.  It's no secret.

Even TNA Executive Producer Eric Bischoff recently admitted it on the Oct. 11 episode of Monday Night Mayhem.

So, how do you turn the TV Title division around?  A complete renovation.

Bischoff, on a previous episode of Monday Night Mayhem, mentioned that the X Division benefited from the weight limit added to it after the Destination X PPV.  He said it gave the division some definition.

Now it is time to give some definition to the TV Title division.  Here are three things that can be done to accomplish that.

1.  The TV Title should, by definition, only be defended on Impact, and the champion should only wrestle on Impact.

2.  TV Title matches should have a 15-minute time limit.

3.  TV Title matches should have a three-rope break limit.

By introducing rules the other divisions don't have, you give an identity to the division.  The rules also allow for great stories to be told in the ring.

Anyone that watched the old Ring of Honor Pure Matches saw how stories were told with the three-rope break rule.  It tells a story of strategy.

The rope break rule also allowed for unique finishes with submissions in the ropes.  This is a division that should have lots of top submission wrestlers and strikers in it—imagine Samoa Joe finishing a match by choking someone out in the ropes, or Low-KI unleashing a barrage of kicks on a defenseless wrestler tied in the ropes until the referee has to stop it.

Brutal. 

Add that to the time limit—which adds another story element for heels to sneak out with a win, as was done with the TV title in WCW—and you suddenly have a division with lots of story potential.

3. The Introduction of the Last Blood Match

Everyone has heard of a First Blood match.  It is, of course, a match where the winner is the first one to make his opponent bleed.

I always had a problem with this kind of match.  To me, when you make someone bleed, that should mean that the fun is just getting started.

Thus, why not have a Last Blood match?

This match would combine a first blood match with a Last Man Standing match.

The winner is the one that makes his opponent bleed and continues beating him until he can't answer a 10 count.

This match would be used rarely and only to end a very nasty feud.  There should be a rule that a feud would have produce two major PPV matches before it is even considered.

This match has never been done before.  It would be unique to TNA.

Countdown to Lockdown Tournament PPV

One of the things WWE did really well was the King of the Ring Tournament.  Every year, it resulted in kick-starting the career of a new talent.

Triple H, Owen Hart and—most famously—Stone Cold Steve Austin all blew up and got major pushes after the event.

In 2010, TNA did something similar with the Eight Card Stud Tournament, where the winner got a world title shot at Lockdown that year.

The Pope D'Angelo Dinero won the event and looked poised for stardom after coming up just short against AJ Styles for the World Heavyweight Title at Lockdown.

Stardom never quite came for the Pope, but the idea was sound.

With the King of the Ring PPV long gone, there is definitely room for a star-making tournament PPV.  This is something TNA should take advantage of and make their own.

5. Bring Back the World X Cup

One of TNA's early innovations was the World X Cup.

Capitalizing on the patriotic fever of things like the World Cup soccer tournament and the Olympics, TNA brought teams from Japan, Canada and Mexico for a series of matches.

The event was popular among die-hard fans, but was also a logistical and financial nightmare for a young growing company like TNA.

However, with the company still growing and continuing to build relationships with international promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling and the AAA promotion in Mexico, now would be a good time to bring the World X Cup back as a yearly event.

With the recent announcement of a new promotion, TNA will be starting in India. This would be a great way to showcase some of the Indian talent for that group.

A World X Cup, with teams representing TNA, Japan, Mexico and India would greatly benefit TNA's continued pursuit of growth internationally.  The fourth team could vary from year to year to include teams from India, the UK—another big market for TNA—or Canada.

To share the costs, much like the World Cup, the event could move every year with New Japan or AAA hosting. 

If the event is successful, it could even be spun off to have a Knockouts' version, considering the Japanese, Mexican and Australian talent available—many of whom wrestle in the states on a regular basis for Shimmer Women's Athletes.