 | |
| NWA: Total Nonstop Action (2002–2004) Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2017, 2024–present) Impact Wrestling (March 2017 – June 2017, September 2017 – January 2024) Global Force Wrestling (June 2017 – September 2017)[1] | |
| Formerly | J Sports & Entertainment, LLC (2002)[2] TNA Entertainment, LLC (2002–2016)[3] Impact Ventures, LLC (2015–2016)[4] |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Professional wrestling Streaming media |
| Founded | May 10, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-05-10) inNashville, Tennessee |
| Founders | Jeff Jarrett Jerry Jarrett Bob Ryder |
| Headquarters | Nashville, Tennessee ,U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide[5] |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Parent | Anthem Sports & Entertainment[8] |
| Divisions | TNA+ TNA Wrestling Home Video |
| Website | tnawrestling |
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated asTNA Wrestling orTNA) is an Americanprofessional wrestling promotion based inNashville, Tennessee.[9] It is a subsidiary ofAnthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by businessmanLeonard Asper.[10]
Founded byJeff Jarrett andJerry Jarrett in 2002, following the end ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001,[11] the promotion was initially known asNWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) and was affiliated with theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) governing body.[12] The promotion dropped the "NWA" brand from its name in 2004, becomingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA continued to use the NWAWorld Heavyweight andTag Teamchampionships until this agreement ended in 2007; after which, the company would create its ownWorld Heavyweight andWorld Tag Team championships. The promotion was purchased by Anthem at the beginning of 2017. In March of that year, it was rebranded toImpact Wrestling after itsweekly flagship television show, but returned to the TNA branding in January 2024.[13][14]
From its inception, TNA had been considered the second-largest in the United States behindWWE a position it would hold for most of the 2000s and early 2010s.[15][16] During this time period the promotion was known for featuring former top talent from WCW, WWE, andECW, such asRaven,Jeff Jarrett, andSting, free agents that were released from the WWE during the time period such asKurt Angle,Jeff Hardy, andMr. Kennedy (who wrestled as Mr. Anderson in TNA), as well as more homegrown wrestlers who had not appeared in WWE yet and mainly performed for the promotion such asAJ Styles andSamoa Joe. (Some of whom would later be signed by WWE during the mid to late 2010s as TNA suffered financial issues).[17] From 2015 to 2017, the promotion was viewed by some to have fallen behind longtime rivalRing of Honor;[18][19][20] with the loss of their U.S. television contract withSpike in 2014, as well as monetary and personnel issues, being noted as factors to their decline.[21]
By 2019, the promotion was viewed to have recovered through its sustained international distribution,[22] and the purchase by its parent company ofAXS TV; which subsequently began carrying the promotion's programming.[23][24] TNA is currently viewed as being the third-largest wrestling promotion in the United States; following the establishment ofAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2019, and its current television deals withWarner Bros. Discovery'sTNT andTBS (both of which are seen in more households than AXS).[25][26]
The concept of TNA originated shortly afterWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) ended in 2001, with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, laterWWE) gaining a monopoly on the industry. While on a fishing trip,Bob Ryder,Jeff Jarrett andJerry Jarrett contemplated their futures in the professional wrestling business under a parent company known as J Sports & Entertainment, LLC.[2][12] Ryder suggested a company not reliant on television, but rather one going straight topay-per-view.[12] In July 2002,Vince Russo joined Jeff and Jerry Jarrett's NWA-TNA promotion as a creative writer and would assist in the writing and production of the shows. Russo states that he coined the name "Total Nonstop Action", the initials of the company "TNA" being a play on "T&A". The original intention, as they were exclusive to pay-per-view, was to be viewed as an edgier product than WWE.[27]
Initially, TNA'sweekly pay-per-view show operated as the company's main source of revenue, in place ofmonthly pay-per-view events used by other promotions. These shows took place mostly at theTennessee State Fairground Sports Arena inNashville, nicknamed the "TNA Asylum". In October 2002,Panda Energy International purchased acontrolling interest (72%) of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from Jerry Jarrett. TNA (which originally traded as "J Sports and Entertainment") was re-organized as "TNA Entertainment", LLC, in the process.[28][29]Dixie Carter was appointed president of TNA Entertainment in spring 2003.[30]Xplosion launched on November 27, 2002, as TNA's first regular cable show and featured exclusive matches taped at the TNA Asylum as well as exclusiveinterviews withTNA wrestlers and the promotion's original weekly pay-per-view shows took place mostly at theTennessee State Fairground Sports Arena inNashville, Tennessee. The last weekly pay-per-view took place on September 8, 2004, with a total of 111 weekly pay-per-views.
In May 2004, TNA introduced its second weekly television program,Impact! (stylized asiMPACT!), produced atSoundstage 21, nicknamed the "Impact Zone", atUniversal Studios Florida and broadcast onFox Sports Net (FSN).[31] With the show's première, TNA introduced a six-sided wrestling ring,[32][33] the implementation of the "Fox Box" displaying competitors and timekeeping for the match[34] and a generally more sports-like style than thesports entertainment style exemplified by WWE.[34]
In June 2004, TNA issued a press release stating it had signed a master toy license agreement withToy Biz, with variousaction figures and playsets releasing between 2005 and 2007.[35][36]
TNA would subsequently discontinue producing weekly pay-per-views in favor of a traditional monthly pay-per-view schedule, beginning withVictory Road in November 2004. TNA's television contract with Fox Sports expired in May 2005.[37] Without television exposure,Impact! would continue to air through webcasts – originally made available viaBitTorrent and eventually viaRealPlayer – and replaceXplosion's timeslot onUrban America Television.[38][39]
On September 11, 2005, TNA held itsUnbreakable pay-per-view. Unbreakable is remembered for the three-way match main event for theTNA X Division Championship, betweenAJ Styles,Christopher Daniels, andSamoa Joe, which received a rare 5 Star match rating from wrestling journalistDave Meltzer, the first one the company received.[40]
Later that year, TNA would secure a television deal withSpike TV;Impact! debuted on the network on October 1, 2005. The episode sawTeam 3D make their TNA debut.[41] TNA would gain attention for the many high-profile talent that would join the promotion during the show's run on Spike. From 2005 to 2009, these includeKevin Nash,Rhino,Christian Cage,Sting (who made appearances at previous "Asylum" shows),Scott Steiner,Kurt Angle,Booker T, andMick Foley.[17]
In April 2006, TNA launched aYouTube channel, featuring clips fromImpact and exclusive content. Beginning withBound for Glory in October 2006, TNA began holding select pay-per-view events outside of Orlando, Florida. In January 2007, TNA announced a deal with New Motion, Inc. which led to the introduction of TNA Mobile service.[42] TNA has also launched "TNA U TV";podcasts aired through YouTube to help promote the company.[43]
In August 2007, live-events coordinator Craig Jenkins stated that TNA intended to stage eight pay-per-views and 96 house shows outside Orlando, Florida, in 2008.[44]
From 2007 to 2008, TNA first toured Europe, hosting two shows atPorto andLisbon inPortugal, with TNA later conducting its first tour ofEngland, with most shows selling out which later broke TNA's attendance records with the promotion later touring inGermany,Scotland andIreland in 2009,France,Wales and theUnited Arab Emirates in 2010 andBelgium in 2012.
In February 2008,Jakks Pacific announced it had signed a multi-year master toy license agreement with TNA, to release products starting in 2010.[45]
In March 2008,Tristar Productions acquired an exclusive license deal to produce and distribute TNA trading cards and memorabilia.[46] On September 9, 2008,Midway Games released theTNA Impact! video game.[47] On October 23, 2008, TNA began producing its programming inHD.[48] In addition, a new HD set forImpact was introduced, including new lighting, and large high-resolution screens.[49]
On June 21, 2009, TNA launched an online video-vault subscription-service where subscribers could watch past pay-per-views by choosing one of three payment options.[50]
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In October 2009, TNA PresidentDixie Carter hiredHulk Hogan and former WCW PresidentEric Bischoff. Hulk Hogan first appeared on the January 4, 2010, episode ofImpact!.[51] Both obtained a position behind the scenes; with Bischoff part of creative and Hogan as a consultant. Under their tenure, TNA would see several revamps in 2010. Beginning withGenesis in January, TNA returned to using a four-sided ring. That month,Jakks Pacific announced a five-year agreement to produce TNA action figures.[52][53]Impact! would also beginairing on Monday nights directly opposite ofWWE Raw, marking the first time that two major professional wrestling promotions would go head to head since the launch ofWCW Monday Nitro in 1995.[54] The show would permanently move to Mondays on March 8, 2010, Spike would keep the Thursday night slot open for repeats of the Monday night shows. During this time,Ric Flair,Rob Van Dam,Mr. Anderson would make their debuts, whileJeff Hardy would make his return.[55]Impact! would later return to Thursday nights on May 3.[56][57][58]
On July 2, 2010, TNA hosted a live house show atMCU Park, which also broke the TNA domestic attendance record at the time and being the most attended live TNA house show in the United States, with a capacity crowd of 5,550.[59]
During the May 3, 2011,Impact! television tapings, the show would change its name toImpact Wrestling.[60][61][62] On November 7, 2011, TNA revealed thatOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) would become TNA's officialdevelopmental territory.[63] In December 2011, TNA debuted their new India-based subsidiary promotionRing Ka King.[64] On May 31, 2012,Impact Wrestling began airing live at a new start time of 8 p.m. EST on Thursday nights.[65] The live schedule would continue throughout 2012.[66] In 2012, Panda Energy divested itself of its stake in TNA.Dixie Carter, the daughter of Panda Energy founder Robert Carter, who had been serving as TNA's president, acquired that stake, making her TNA's majority shareholder. In March 2013, TNA began taping Impact from different venues around the United States and terminated its lease withUniversal Studios.[67] On March 14, TNA introduced a new universal HD stage which would be used for all weekly programming.[68] On November 2, TNA ended its relationship with OVW.[69]
TNA formed a relationship with Japanese promotionWrestle-1 beginning in July 2013 with a meeting between TNA founder Jeff Jarrett and Wrestle-1 headKeiji Mutoh.[70] It was arranged for Jarrett to wrestle for Wrestle-1 in October 2013.[71] In November, A.J. Styles successfully defended theTNA World Heavyweight Championship at a Wrestle-1 show in Japan.[72]
From the period of 2013 to 2014, many well-known names or veterans of the company left TNA. In October 2013,Hulk Hogan's contract with TNA expired, ending his time as creative consultant with the company.[73][74] In December,AJ Styles left TNA after his contract expired.[75] Styles later said that he could not accept TNA's new contract offer, which would see him take a 60% cut in pay[76] and TNA founderJeff Jarrett would resign from the company,[77] but remained as minority shareholder until his temporary return on June 24, 2015, with the deal for his return including the transfer of his minority stake to Dixie Carter, making her sole shareholder.[78][79][80][81] The following year Jarrett revealed plans to start a new professional wrestling promotion,Global Force Wrestling.[82] Further departures in 2014 included TNA veteransSting,[83]Chris Sabin,[84]Hernandez,[85]Christopher Daniels andKazarian all leaving the company in that year,[86] and the contracts ofTNA Hall of FamersBully Ray andDevon reportedly expired in October 2014, with TNA moving them to the alumni section of their roster in January 2015.[87]
In late July, theTMZ website reported thatSpike was not renewingImpact Wrestling beyond October.[88] TNA would refute the report, stating that negotiations were still ongoing.[89] On August 14,Impact Wrestling moved to Wednesday nights.[90] On August 20, TNA signed an extension with Spike until the end of 2014.[91]
In November 2014, TNA announced a new agreement withDiscovery Communications to distribute its programming in the United States onDestination America and to selected international markets.[92] Spike's outreach at the time was estimated to be more than 97 million homes while Destination America was estimated to reach 59 million households.[93]Impact Wrestling ceased airing new televised events on Spike after the November 19 episode. The final episodes of 2014 wereBest of TNA clip shows. On January 7, 2015,Impact Wrestling moved toDestination America, with a live debut from TheManhattan Center's Grand Ballroom in New York City.[94][95][96]
In addition toImpact Wrestling, which was now airing on Friday nights,[97] two new shows produced wereImpact Wrestling: Unlocked, hosted byMike Tenay,[98] andTNA Wrestling's Greatest Matches, a series presenting the best matches in the company's history.[99] From December 2014 to March 2015, several employees re-signed with TNA, includingKurt Angle,[100] Jeff Hardy,Gail Kim, Mr. Anderson,Abyss andMatt Hardy.[101][102]Awesome Kong also re-joined the company following several years of absence.[102] During this period, veteranSamoa Joe and commentatorTazz left the company by mutual consent.[103][104]
On April 27, 2015,Smashing Pumpkins frontmanBilly Corgan joined TNA as senior producer of creative and talent development.[105] According to a report on August 7, TNA filed a new business name of Impact Ventures, LLC.[3]
Destination America gained over 41.94 million viewers over the course of 2015's first quarter, making this the channel's best first quarter ever,[106] followed by their best May ever in prime time. In both cases, Discovery Communications toutedImpact Wrestling as one of the reasons for the increase in viewers.[107] Despite this success, Discovery Communications droppedUnlocked andGreatest Matches from their programming in May 2015.[108][109]
On November 19, TNA signed a deal withPop TV to airImpact Wrestling,[110] where it premiered on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, in a live special held at theSands Hotel and Casino inBethlehem, Pennsylvania. With this move to Pop,Impact Wrestling introduced a new HD set, graphics and theme music. This show saw the semi-finals and finals of theTNA World Title Series, which was won byEthan Carter III. Husband and wife teamMike Bennett andMaria Kanellis would debut soon after. Subsequent shows would include episodes taped during a tour of England, which would be the last TNA appearances forKurt Angle. TNA returned to tapingImpact Wrestling at theImpact Zone atUniversal Studios in Orlando, Florida, beginning with a live Impact Wrestling on March 15. On March 19, longtime TNA wrestlersEric Young andBobby Roode left the promotion after 12 years.[111] On April 22,Velvet Sky, another longtime TNA wrestler, left the company.[112]
It was reported near the beginning of 2016 that Aroluxe Marketing, a Brentwood, Tennessee–based marketing agency, had taken a stake in TNA at the start of 2016 in return for providing partial funding, as well as taking over TNA's production operations.[116] It was reported in June 2016 thatSmashing Pumpkins frontmanBilly Corgan acquired a minority stake in TNA from Dixie Carter, but he had instead provided a loan to Carter.[117][118] Then on August 12, Billy Corgan became the promotion's new president, while Carter transitioned from president to the company's new chairwoman and chief strategy officer.[4][119]
It was reported on September 16 by theNew York Post that Canada's Fight Network, through its parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corporation, had taken a stake in TNA.[116] On October 13, Corgan sued TNA due to unpaid debt which Corgan claimed TNA had defaulted on. The State ofTennessee also put a lien on TNA for unpaid taxes.[120]Anthem Sports & Entertainment, parent company ofImpact Wrestling's Canadian broadcaster,Fight Network, offered to help TNA and repay Corgan for the loans, while also offering additional financial assistance to TNA to help keep them from filing for bankruptcy.[121] On October 31, Corgan lost his injunction that kept TNA from selling the company, but TNA was required to pay Corgan back by November 1. It was possible that one of the other minority owners could pay Corgan, effectively making them the majority owner of TNA.[122][unreliable source]
On November 3, the company revealed that Anthem Sports & Entertainment provided a credit facility to fund operations for TNA and that Corgan was removed as the promotion's president.[123][124] However, Corgan himself stated that neither TNA nor Anthem Sports & Entertainment had yet repaid the $2.7 million debt that was owed to him by TNA[125] and, as such, he was considering suing, as well as converting the debt into a 36 percent stake.[126] As the result of a settlement between Corgan and TNA, Anthem Sports & Entertainment acquired the loans Corgan made to Carter in the process.[127]
Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a company owned by formerCanwest CEOLeonard Asper, purchased a majority stake of TNA, re-organizing TNA's parent company with Aroluxe having 10 percent while Carter retaining a five percent minority stake in the company, but resigned as chairwoman after 14 years with the company, while joining the advisory board of Fight Media Group. The promotion's parent company, TNA Entertainment, was changed firstly to Impact Ventures and then to Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC., with Anthem's Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm becoming President of the new parent company.[128][129][130] Shortly after Anthem's acquisition of TNA, it was re-branded to Impact Wrestling. On January 5, 2017Jeff Jarrett was brought back by Anthem to serve as a consultant and later promoted to executive producer and chief creative officer.[131] Anthem re-branded the promotion as Impact Wrestling, afterits primary television series two months later.[132] WrestlersDrew Galloway,Matt Hardy,Jeff Hardy,Jade,Crazzy Steve,Mike Bennett andMaria Kanellis left the company during this period.[citation needed]
In April 2017, it was announced onImpact! that the promotion would "merge" with Jarrett's newerGlobal Force Wrestling (GFW) promotion. In the lead-up to theSlammiversary XV PPV, Anthem officially announced its intent to acquire GFW to formalize the merger.[131][133][134] The company subsequently announced that they were re-branding again and taking the GFW name in June;[1] the re-branding was short-lived as they severed ties with Jarrett that October and the deal for Anthem to acquire GFW was never completed.[135][136] During that time, Anthem launched theGlobal Wrestling Network, a newstreaming service which featured content from to their tape library and other sources.[137] Jarrett subsequently filed a lawsuit against Anthem in theDistrict Court of Tennessee for copyright infringement over the GFW rights;[138][139] the lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court.[140]
Don Callis andScott D'Amore became executive vice presidents in January 2018, taking charge of Impact Wrestling's day-to-day operations.[141] At the first tapings under their tenure, the company reverted to a traditional four-sided ring, and the show also saw the return of former World Heavyweight ChampionAustin Aries, as well the debuts of new wrestlers such asKiera Hogan,Su Yung,Pentagón Jr.,Fénix andBrian Cage.[142] The company also announced a partnership with live streaming serviceTwitch to produce content for their platform, starting withBrace for Impact, which was co-promoted with New Jersey–based promotion WrestlePro. Their first live show wasImpact vs. Lucha Underground, a co-promoted show withLucha Underground.[143]
Impact! subsequently moved toPursuit Channel beginning January 11, 2019.[144] Two months later, the promotion announced thatOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) would serve as its developmental territory once again.[145] In May,Impact Plus replaced the Global Wrestling Network as the official streaming app for the promotion.[146]Impact! began airing on Anthem-ownedAXS TV afterBound for Glory in October.[147]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Impact would hold eventsbehind closed doors at Skyway Studios in Nashville.[148] During the pandemic, the promotion cancelled its plannedTNA: There's No Place Like Home event,[148] andTessa Blanchard, who became the first woman to win the promotion'sWorld Championship earlier that year atHard to Kill, was fired and stripped of the championship after a long absence.[149]Slammiversary saw the returns ofThe Motor City Machine Guns,Eric Young,Doc Gallows andEC3, as well as the debuts ofKarl Anderson andHeath Slater.[150]
After the events ofAEW Winter Is Coming on December 2, 2020, Impact began a partnership withAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), which lasted untilBound for Glory 2021. AEW-contracted wrestlersKenny Omega andChristian Cage held the Impact World Championship during this time; this marked Cage's first in-ring return to the promotion since 2008.[151] In February 2021, Impact launchedBefore the Impact (abbreviated asBTI), andXplosion was canceled after 19 years the following month.[152][153][154] DuringNo Surrender Impact announced a new partnership withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[155] Don Callis' time as Impact executive vice president and on-air talent ended in May.[156]
Slammiversary 2021 marked the return of in-person spectators for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[157] That month,BTI andImpact! would crossover for the first time, whenJosh Alexander facedT. J. Perkins for theX Division Championship in Impact's first-ever 60-minuteIron man match, which began onBTI and concluded in the opening minutes ofImpact!.[158] Impact subsequently announced the end of their partnership with Twitch that August and launched a newYouTube membership program called "Impact Wrestling Insiders".[159]
In November 2022, Impact andDAZN signed a partnership where the streaming service will distribute select non-live shows in most countries except the United States,South Asia andsub-Saharan Africa.[160]
On May 8, 2023, Impact announced their first everAustralian shows namedDown Under Tour, a four-day tour with two marquee wrestling shows that took part on June 30 and July 1 inWagga Wagga,New South Wales.[161][162]
At the conclusion ofBound for Glory on October 21, 2023, Impact announced that it would revive the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) name. From October 26 to 28, Impact held events inScotland andEngland, marking their firstUnited Kingdom tour since 2015.[163]
In December 2023, the promotion announced it had signed a new toy license with PowerTown, to release its first line of product in August 2024.[164]
The name change to TNA took effect in January 2024, with the first event under the reinstated TNA banner beingHard To Kill.[165] On February 7, Anthem Sports & Entertainment announced that Scott D'Amore's contract with TNA wasterminated, with D'Amore being removed from his position as President of TNA, later being replaced by Anthony Cicione.[166][167]
In 2024, TNA began a wider talent exchange withWWE. Several TNA wrestlers would make appearances on NXT's weekly television series and livestreaming events and vice versa. A multi-year partnership between TNA and WWE was officially announced on January 16, 2025.[168][169]
On February 12, 2025, Cicione resigned from his position as President of TNA, and has been replaced by Carlos Silva.[7]
From June 2002 until September 2004, the promotion's original weekly pay-per-view shows took place mostly at theTennessee State Fairground Sports Arena inNashville, Tennessee, nicknamed the "TNA Asylum". There were a total of 111 weekly pay-per-views.
From June 2004 to March 2013, TNA programming was taped atUniversal Studios Florida's Soundstage 21 inOrlando, Florida. The Soundstages at Universal were dubbed the "Impact Zone" by the company. Pay-per-views were also broadcast from that location until October 2006, whenBound for Glory emanated from theCompuware Arena inPlymouth, Michigan.
Initially, TNA worked withHermie Sadler's United Wrestling Federation in 2005 to create house shows. TNA permitted the usage of the ring and for championships to be defended at these events. TNA started running independenthouse shows on March 17, 2006.[170] They would continue to work with United Wrestling Federation and promote independent shows at the same time, until 2007. In 2007, TNA first toured Europe, hosting two shows atPorto andLisbon in Portugal with APW Wrestling. In 2008, TNA wrestlers appeared atWrestle Kingdom II in Japan. Later on in 2008, TNA conducted its first tour of England, with most shows selling out. The promotion first toured Germany, Scotland and Ireland in 2009, France, Wales and the United Arab Emirates in 2010 and Belgium in 2012.
In August 2007, live-events coordinator Craig Jenkins stated that TNA intended to stage eight pay-per-views and 96 house shows outside Orlando, Florida, in 2008.[44]
In 2009, during their United Kingdom tour, ahouse show atWembley Arena inLondon broke TNA's attendance records. On July 2, 2010,MCU Park hosted a live TNA house show, which also broke the TNA domestic attendance record at the time and is currently the most attended live TNA house show in the United States, with a capacity crowd of 5,550.[59]
On January 31, 2013, TNA announced that they would tape their programming in different venues around the United States, with the first live show being held on March 14, in the Sears Centre inHoffman Estates, Illinois.[171] Unable to cover the rising costs of taping on the road, TNA would return to Universal Studios on November 21, 2013.[172] The promotion would continue to occasionally tape programming from other venues; such as theSands Casino Event Center inBethlehem, Pennsylvania;[173] theManhattan Center's Grand Ballroom inNew York City;[174][175]The SSE Hydro inGlasgow;Manchester Arena inManchester;Wembley Arena in London, as part of a January 2015 tour.
In June 2017, the promotion, having been rebranded Impact Wrestling, held a show inIndia, becoming the first major U.S. promotion to hold events in that country.[176] AfterBound for Glory 2017 in November 2017, Impact would do a set of tapings in Ottawa.[177]
Following the 2018Redemption pay-per-view, Impact Wrestling would return to touring, taping in various smaller venues. The year's taping locations includedWindsor, Ontario,[178]Toronto,[179]Mexico City,[180]New York City,[181] andLas Vegas.[182]
In 2019, Impact Wrestling held tapings inPhiladelphia,Dallas, New York City,Houston, Windsor, Mexico City, Nashville, Toronto, Rahway, Fort Campbell, Owensboro, and other venues inOntario.[183]
During the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Impact Wrestling programming was taped and heldbehind closed doors at Skyway Studios in the promotion's home base of Nashville, Tennessee from April 2020 through June 2021.[184][185][186] Beginning withSlammiversary in July 2021, fans were allowed in attendance at Skyway.
On October 23, 2021, Impact held their first event outside of Nashville in a year and a half withBound for Glory, which took place just outside ofLas Vegas inSunrise Manor, Nevada.
After a brief Las Vegas area residency to end 2021, Impact resumed a full schedule of live touring in January 2022.[187]
In March 2023, Impact held events inWindsor, Ontario, Canada. This would mark their first shows outside of the U.S. in three years. Numerous other shows were held throughoutCanada all through the year.[188]
Impact held its first ever shows inAustralia on June 30 and July 1, 2023.[162] From October 26 to 28, 2023, Impact held events inScotland andEngland, marking their firstUnited Kingdom tour since 2015.[163]
On November 26, 2023, Impact and partner promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), co-promoted the Ultra Clash supershow in theMonterrey, Mexico area, marking Impact's first show in Mexico since 2019.[189]
The X Division is known for its high-flying, high-risk style matches. While most wrestlers who perform are under 220 lb (100 kg), thus being cruiserweights, Impact would emphasize the high-risk nature of the moves that these wrestlers perform by removing all restraints from competing in the X Division and allowing wrestlers to perform almoststunt-like moves. Because of this, wrestlers such as Samoa Joe, billed at 280 lb (130 kg), Kurt Angle, billed at 230 lb (100 kg), and Abyss, billed at 350 lb (160 kg), have also competed in the division.[citation needed] The slogan "It's not about weight limits, it's about no limits" has been used throughout the years to describe the division.[190]
In August 2011, a 225 lb (102 kg) weight limit was introduced,[191] though it was quietly repealed in March 2012. Further changes introduced in March 2013, including a weight limit of 230 lbs, and all matches being contested as triple threat matches,[192] were also repealed in August.[193][194]
From the promotion's first show in June 2002, a standard four-sidedwrestling ring was used. In June 2004, with the premiere ofImpact!, TNA switched to a six-sided ring, as occasionally used in AAA.[195] The six-sided ring would be retired in January 2010,[196] only making a brief return for the 2011Destination X event. In 2014, after a fan-voted poll to determine what type of ring the company would use from June 2014,[197] the six-sided ring would return.[198] The promotion would continue to use the six-sided ring until January 2018, when it went back to a traditional four-sided ring.[199]
Knockout is a term used by the company to refer to itsfemale talent. The term is applied universally towrestlers, backstage interviewers, andmanagers/valets. The division was established in 2002 mostly consisting of female valets and managers who were not competing often during the company's inception in 2002 until 2006; it became a permanent women's division in 2007 known as theTNA Knockouts Division that consisted of women such asGail Kim,Angelina Love,Velvet Sky andAwesome Kong. The division features theTNA Knockouts World Championship and theTNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships. The TNA Knockouts were formerly known as theWomen of TNA, andLadies of TNA.[200][201]
TNA wrestlers are forbidden by contract from working for other companies with televised wrestling shows, but are free to perform non-televised work for any other independent wrestling promotions, domestic or international, as well as televised events held by foreign promotions that Impact Wrestling is linked to or has a working relationship with (such as AAA and NOAH).[202] Many Impact wrestlers perform regularly for various promotions on theindependent circuit in addition to Impact Wrestling weekly shows. In 2012, the company changed its policy, preventing its talent from appearing at any independent events that are later released onDVD.[203] Top wrestlers have guaranteed contracts, but the majority of the roster are paid on a per appearance basis.[202] Impact wrestlers are classified asindependent contractors and are not offered health coverage through the promotion.[202] As of November 2017, Impact Wrestling contracts give the performers complete ownership over all intellectual property associated with their characters.[204]
The Hall of Fame was introduced on May 31, 2012. As part of a yearly process, selected inductees are chosen based on their overall contributions to Impact's history.[205][206] On June 10, atSlammiversary 10, Sting was revealed as the first inductee into the Hall of Fame and his formal induction took place atBound for Glory in October 2012.[207]
In early 2006, the promotion began a collaboration withHermie Sadler's United Wrestling Federation. The agreement permitted UWF to use the TNA logo on posters and signage, as well as to use the six-sided ring with TNA branding. These shows were mainly promoted as 'UWF/TNA' events. The TNA name agreement ended at the end of 2006, as TNA began to promote their own house show events, though UWF still used a six-sided ring.[208] These events were recorded and released on DVD by Highsports.[209][170] They would continue to work with United Wrestling Federation and promote independent shows at the same time, until 2007.
TNA has worked with several wrestling promotions, with championships from those promotions sometimes having been defended at TNA events. Among the organizations TNA has had working relationships with are Mexico'sConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) from 2007 to 2009 andThe Crash, Japan'sInoki Genome Federation (IGF),New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),Wrestle-1 (W-1),Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), United States' the originalGlobal Force Wrestling (another promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett),OMEGA Championship Wrestling (owned by Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy andGregory Helms) andEvolve Wrestling.[210]
The initial relationship with NJPW lasted from 2008 to 2011. Then-known as TNA, the promotion would send wrestlers to participate in NJPW's annualWrestle Kingdom events, as well as NJPW sending futureIWGP Heavyweight ChampionKazuchika Okada on a training excursion to TNA. The relationship would be strained, whenIWGP Tag Team ChampionsTeam 3D were held off of a New Japan tour in favor of appearing onImpact Wrestling tapings and Okada was given thegimmick of "Okato", where he dressed similar toThe Green Hornet's sidekickKato.[211] a decision Executive Vice President Scott D'Amore has since apologized for on behalf of the previous regime.[212] In February 2021, Impact would re-established relationship with NJPW with NJPW later forgiving the incidents that happened under the previous regime.[213] This partnership would last until December 2024, when NJPW's contract to air on TNA's co-owned TV homeAXS TV expired, and was not renewed.[214]
On March 2, 2014, TNA collaborated with Wrestle-1 in producing theKaisen: Outbreak supershow in Tokyo, Japan, where three TNA championships were defended.[215][216] In May 2015, it was reported that the relationship between TNA and Wrestle-1 had ended.[217]
Since 2015, the promotion has had a working agreement with Mexico'sLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)[218] and in 2018, announced a partnership with the AAA-affiliatedLucha Underground, allowing their wrestlers from the show to appear for Impact on a regular basis. In April 2018, the two promotions heldImpact vs Lucha Underground from WrestleCon inNew Orleans to a sell out crowd.[219] On November 26, 2023, Impact and partner promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), co-promoted the Ultra Clash supershow in theMonterrey, Mexico area, marking Impact's first show in Mexico since 2019.[189]
Since 2018, Impact has established working relationships with a number of promotions to co-promote house shows, Twitch specials, the finalImpact One Night Only events, andImpact Plus Monthly Specials. These promotions include, Future Stars of Wrestling, Smash Wrestling, AML Wrestling, Superkick'd,Border City Wrestling, WrestleCade, Rocky Mountain Pro, Rockstar Pro Wrestling, Wrestlepro, Wrestling Revolver, RISE, Destiny Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling (California), DEFY Wrestling andHouse of Hardcore.[220][221]
Impact Wrestling would begin a partnership withAll Elite Wrestling in December 2020, with its wrestlers and titles appearing on Impact programming.[222] In October 2021, the working relationship between Impact and AEW quietly ended followingBound for Glory.[223]
On the January 7, 2022, episode ofSmackDown, it was announced thatKnockouts ChampionMickie James would enter the2022 Royal Rumble match. BothWWE's official Twitter account and Impact's website confirmed this soon after, with the former recognizing James as an Impact champion. Two years later, Knockouts ChampionJordynne Grace would enter in the Royal Rumble.[224][225][226] In 2024, TNA and WWE began a wider talent exchange, with several TNA wrestlers appearing on WWE'sNXT brand, and NXT wrestlers making periodic appearances at TNA events. On January 16, 2025, WWE announced a multi-year partnership with TNA that allows NXT wrestlers and TNA wrestlers to appear inNXT shows,TNA iMPACT!, selectWWE Premium Live Events, andTNA pay-per-views.[227]
| Year | Title | Developer | Console |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main series | |||
| 2008 | TNA Wrestling | Longtail Studios | Mobile phone,iOS |
| 2008 | TNA Impact! | Midway Studios Los Angeles | PS3,Xbox 360,Wii,PS2 |
| 2010 | TNA Impact!: Cross The Line | SouthPeak Games | PSP,Nintendo DS |
| 2011 | TNA Wrestling Impact! | Namco Networks | Mobile phone,iOS |
As of May 9, 2025
Singles
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNA World Championship | .jpg) | Joe Hendry | 1 | January 19, 2025 | 110 | Garland, Texas | DefeatedNic Nemeth atGenesis. | [228] |
| TNA International Championship |  | Steve Maclin | 1 | April 17, 2025 | 22 | Paradise, Nevada | DefeatedEric Young andA. J. Francis in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion atUnbreakable. | [229] |
| TNA X Division Championship | .jpg) | Moose | 1 | October 27, 2024 | 194 | Detroit, Michigan | DefeatedMike Bailey during theImpact! tapings. Aired ontape delay on November 7, 2024. | [230] |
Tag team
| Championship | Current champions | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNA World Tag Team Championship |   | The Nemeth Brothers (Nic Nemeth andRyan Nemeth) | 1 | April 27, 2025 | 12 | Los Angeles, California | DefeatedThe Hardys (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy) atRebellion. | [231] |
Singles
| Championship | Current champion | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNA Knockouts World Championship |  | Masha Slamovich | 1 | October 26, 2024 | 195 | Detroit, Michigan | DefeatedJordynne Grace atBound for Glory. | [232] |
Tag team
| Championship | Current champions | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship | .jpg) | Ash by Elegance andHeather by Elegance | 1 | March 14, 2025 | 56 | El Paso, Texas | DefeatedSpitfire (Dani Luna andJody Threat) in a 3-on-2Handicap match also involving Ash's and Heather's manager, The Personal Concierge, atSacrifice. | [233] |
Founded in 2002, TNA has established itself as the second-largest professional wrestling promotion in the country
Hogan ... Numerous fallings out with McMahon over the years led to his departure, and he now treads water in distant number two promotion TNA, hurting rather than helping the cause.
Okada's next title defense will be on 7/1 in Long Beach against Cody ... There is a very good chance that Cody will be winning the ROH title from Christopher Daniels ... If he does ... that creates the unique situation of the world champion of Japan's No. 1 organization against the world champion of the (very distant) No. 2 organization in the U.S.
Ring of Honor is undeniably WWE's chief competitor.
Although there aren't comparable metrics, at some point since TNA Impact Wrestling left Spike TV and ROH continued to stabilize itself with the Sinclair partnership and New Japan relationship, ROH easily became the no. 2 pro wrestling company based in North America, behind only WWE – although by a big distance.
and, at one time, the second most popular promotion in the United States behind industry leader World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) .. a few months later, Impact Wrestling imploded. Again.
In addition to majority owner and Chairwoman Dixie Carter, Corgan, Aroluxe Marketing and Canada's Fight Network all have equity stakes.
TNA President Dixie Carter would remain the majority owner of the company, although the move obviously bolsters Corgan's influence when it comes to all aspects of TNA.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
