During my cringier anti-sports entertainment days I always had the belief that it was "impossible" to form an alternative. Wrestling was past it and you couldn't train the masses to not associate wrestling with monday night because "you can't even get them to watch smackdown". Just general defeat and acceptance. Throw in some snide shade about mouth breathers not liking wrestling and you had 2008-2012 me. There's never really been any competition. The internet joke of Kurt "retiring" when he was in TNA is not unfounded. They never really were able to capture the masses despite some decent momentum: getting on the former network, a failed "war" attempt, billionaire investor. 1.1ers and all.

AEW, what did they do different? Do you feel they did "better" than TNA? Or is it the same deal, second by default. Lotta talk of them falling off, no not going out of business but numbers is numbers right? Have they achieved something that TNA failed to do? Or is it the same "success" just shuffled differently?

No one else really came close. New Japan in a lot of ways was just the New ROH in terms of market saturation. Maybe more. Maybe less, but are they or have they ever been in the conversation?

Is it all LOLTNA mistakes they made that made them never a contender against WWE? Too difficult to gain the masses after the buyout? Impossible to become national from scratch? NWA always fails, why is that? Is the public on board with wrestling to endorse someone else? Straight wrestling doesn't sell on it's own, but WWE lite doesn't get over either.

Does wrestling exist outside of WWE?

After the Monday Night Wars ended, wrestling has always been in two groups: WWE and everything else. AEW, Impact, ROH, NJPW, Stardom CMLL, AAA are all independent companies but they all share talent to enhance their products, while WWE keeps its doors closed and avoids interpromotional business.

In 2024 that still rings true. The real Forbidden Door is WWE hosting wrestlers contracted to other companies. The door has opened just a crack with Jordynne Grace appearing at the Royal Rumble, but I don't believe the door will open wider any time soon.

AEW...

Shit, is he going to say something terrible about AEW isn't he?

AEW has done considerably better than TNA. Despite some incredible flaws and the inclusion of some of the most dislikeable personalities in wrestling, they have done a bang up job at positioning themselves as a viable, alternative to WWE. 

What separates AEW and early TNA, other than 20 years, is AEW looks professional. TNA looked old and cheap, when it was new. From initially filming in a dusty fairground, to it's DIY plywood sets, to it's game show double entrances - it looked like shit from the get go. Presentation is important, as it gives a sense of legitimacy and credibility. It's important. 

The inclusions of the media scrums were genius. I can't remember if the WWE did them as frequent, but I'm sure AEW doing them pushed WWE to make sure they were seen and heard doing the same. Letting the fans and the reporters in was a fantastic idea, especially when you're trying to build support. 

TNA arguable had the better wrestling roster at it's peak - it reads like a HOF ballot, and it's hard to compare anything in AEW or WWE to some of the insanity or the consistency of what TNA was producing at one time, especially from it's X-Division. The fact that some of these guys were only a few years into their careers, and were already that good is mind-blowing. There's guys in AEW who have been in the business for years and still manage to land on their heads tying their shoelaces. It's down right embarrassing at times. 

AEW is better at selling " AEW " than TNA ever was at selling TNA. As @ness, referenced, people legit thought Kurt had retired - despite 10 years with TNA. Which is horrible, as TNA had the legit best wrestling on the planet at times. 

Although cannibalizing ROH and NJPW in the process, AEW also had the fortune, or The Elite had the cunning to launch off the backs of the hottest independent market perhaps ever. TNA were coming up in a period where a big part of the audience had slipped away when the two most famous promotions after WWE had died a year prior. It's a different playing field. 

TNA suffered from terrible management and poor culture. And seeing a lack of real leadership in AEW is frustrating, as if they don't fix that it, maybe sure, it doesn't stop being an alternative for fans, but workers see the bullshit in AEW and think, nah.. I'll pass. 

But there will never be competition to the WWE. It's like asking " will there be an competition to the NBA? " the answer is, No. They'll be other leagues. And I'm sure they're fun. And I'm sure people get paid well to be there, but it ain't the NBA. 

The issue with TNA was their foundations. They were founded on the same creative as 2000s WCW and that was a difficult smell to rub off. There was a ton of talent there, so you can cherry-pick the best moments and make the show watchable, but still this was a promotion that seemingly had contempt for Pro Wrestling.

They never learned their lesson either. When they tried to take their big swing, they brought in Hogan and it was WCW 1998 all over again with Bischoff/Hogan taking up too much of the television.

With AEW it was the right place at the right time. Nerd culture had carved out a niche in Pro Wrestling and with Twitter/YouTube gaining steam a promotion that was pure Pro Wrestling fan-service. The tone was relatively upbeat and the fans got behind it. I'll spare this thread another Punk diversion, but things changed and the show has been treading water. Thankfully they have a billionaire there who is happy to eat the cost and he's so accommodating to his talent and broadcasters that he should be able to keep the TV on air.

It's great for the industry. It's more TV time, more promotion, more opportunities - you just have to hope the wrestler's take advantage of it instead of squandering it.