WWE News: TNA Forms Partnership with Former WWE Developmental Territory

Every wrestling promotion needs to have some sort of avenue through which it acquires new talent. 

The WWE currently has Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), but once upon a time, the company used to use Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as its developmental territory. The promotion was where the likes of Randy Orton and John Cena honed their craft before appearing on TV.

You might say that without OVW, the most popular star in wrestling today may have never existed. And you know what actually has never existed? A developmental territory for TNA. 

But it does now. 

From PWTorch.com: 

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TNA announced Monday an "exclusive relationship" with Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to be TNA's official training and developmental territory. 

OVW owner Danny Davis will work closely with TNA executive Bruce Prichard "in the 
development of the talent through training, live events, and weekly television production 
allowing talent to explore every aspect of the business."

TNA developmental talent will begin arriving at OVW to begin an "extensive training program." Talent will be selected for the program by Prichard and TNA management, "who will be monitoring the progress of each wrestler at camp and the live events."

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Though we usually like to criticize TNA for everything that company does wrong, this is definitely a huge step in the right direction.

Sure, TNA has pried some talent away from Ring of Honor, and it has used the Dudley Boyz’s wrestling academy as an unofficial developmental territory. But the promotion has never had a direct outlet for developing and mentoring young talent.

And now it does in the form of the WWE’s former developmental territory.

OVW is known for producing a great slate of future stars, and if the same type of talent is there in Ohio when TNA takes over, then TNA could finally have a developmental territory that would be able to compete with that of the WWE.

This means that TNA may become more than just a place for former WCW and WWE stars. It may actually become a promotion that scouts talent, develops them and gets them ready for the big-time.

If that is indeed the case, then TNA is one step closer to being taken seriously as a threat to the WWE.