History Wrestling / Tna

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After the end of the Wrestling/MondayNightWars in 2001, there were no more companies that could compete with Wrestling/{{WWE}}, and from the ashes of the promotion's clean sweep of the territories, a new generation of independent wrestling promotions arose across the United States, in order to preserve many core aspects their predecessors once held. One of the most famous (or infamous, depends on who you talk to) of these promotions was NWA: Total Nonstop Action, an affiliate of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance founded by Wrestling/JeffJarrett in the aftermath of his fallout with WWE, and his father Jerry in June 2002.

Their original business model was PPV-only, offering low-priced, weekly pay-per-view events in lieu of a free television program. Unfortunately, they were unable to attract enough regular buyers to turn a profit, and eventually the company was bought out by a power-plant company called Panda Energy. With the considerable financial backing of their new owners, TNA withdrew from the NWA and added a free television series called ''TNA Xplosion!'', a BShow used to promote the weekly [=PPVs=] that aired on Sun Sports, a regional cable sports channel in Florida.

Twenty seven months and 111 pay per views later, TNA got their first television deal beyond Florida (with Creator/{{Fox}} [=SportsNet=], a collection of regional sports networks owned by, or affiliated with Fox), took on a more WWE model with a new television program to center themselves around (''TNA iMPACT!'', later known as ''Impact Wrestling'') and switched to monthly pay per view. When this deal expired in May of 2005, TNA became a WebOriginal for a few months until Creator/SpikeTV picked up ''Impact!'' and gave it a weekly timeslot starting in October. After years of making a loss, this new deal was lucrative enough for TNA to ''finally'' make a profit, mainly from television licensing fees.

For nine years (2004-2013), TNA taped its program at the "Impact Zone", a soundstage at Universal Studios Florida. While the static location maximised production values at minimum cost, TNA could not make money from entry tickets because it was classified as a theme park attraction. In March 2013, TNA attempted to take its show on the road and tour around America: however, this proved to be disastrous as they could not sell enough tickets to cover the costs of touring. The loss forced TNA to move back to the Impact Zone and make drastic cutbacks in almost every area of business, which in turn led to a number of their biggest and longest serving stars quitting after learning that they would be facing significant pay cuts.

Then, in 2014, it was reported by several news websites that Spike TV would not renew ''Impact''. Ultimately, Spike would continue to air TNA programming until the end of the year. In January 2015, TNA's programs moved to Creator/DiscoveryChannel's offspring, Destination America. Unfortunately, the relationship became contentious from the start, as four months after TNA's debut, Destination America would begin airing Wrestling/RingOfHonor's weekly television program as a lead-in.[[note]]The added reach of Destination America, combined with their weekly Saturday slot still airing on Sinclair Broadcasting affiliates, technically put Ring of Honor in more potential households than [=TNA=]. If that were the measuring stick, then Ring of Honor was the #2 wrestling promotion in America while the deal lasted.[[/note]] Ultimately, Destination America's interest in wrestling as a whole would collapse fast, choosing to drop both ''Impact'' and ''ROH Wrestling'' by the end of the year.

''Impact Wrestling'' moved to Pop (formerly TVGN) in 2016. This was the final television deal for TNA as we knew it, while Billy Corgan of Music/TheSmashingPumpkins fame took over the role as president from previous owner Dixie Carter with the intent to rebrand the company entirely. In reality, the latter turned out to be a move by Carter and co. to give Corgan power on paper without ''actually'' giving him power and avoid selling him the company. As a result, Corgan ''sued his own company'', which would turn out to be the first in a long line of DisasterDominoes for TNA. While Corgan lost the case, this resulted in Carter selling majority ownership to Anthem Sports and Entertainment, a Canadian media company who owned Impact's Canadian broadcaster Fight Network. They formally announced ownership of the company on January 3, 2017. (Corgan eventually settled with Anthem, and would later [[http://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/wrestling/264371/billy-corgan-reportedly-buys-nwa-the-national-wrestling-alliance purchase the rights]] to the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance in May 2017.) Immediately, the TNA name was dropped for good; ''Impact Wrestling'' became the name of the company as well as the TV series.

In late June 2017, the company announced its acquisition of Global Force Wrestling, the company started by Jeff Jarrett after he left TNA, which they had done some crossovers with previously. Originally, the plan was for the combined company to adopt the GFW name for the promotion while keeping the ''Impact'' name for the TV series. However, following a series of backstage incidents, Jarrett would be placed on a "leave of absence" in September 2017, and the merger, which had never been fully completed at a legal level, was called off in October 2017, leaving the company with little more than some title belts with GFW logos having to be covered up by "Impact Wrestling" stickers, and the use of neon green as an accent color. By the beginning of 2018, Anthem would hire Don Callis (formerly known as the Jackal in the WWF and Cyrus the Virus in ECW) and Scott D'Amore, both of whom had worked for the company in the past, as the new co-Executive Vice Presidents in charge of day-to-day operations.

Regardless of the moniker they possessed, TNA as a whole is most well-known for a few reasons:
* Dialing up the mature content in Wrestling/VinceRusso's attempt to attract dedicated Attitude Era fans in contrast to WWE's ever-increasing LighterAndSofter product. This was especially true during TNA's weekly pay per view period. The Fox Sports Net deal saw a family-friendly presentation emerge on the television program, with the pay per views being not quite as over the top as before but still more hardcore than WWE's offerings. TNA dropped the family appeal after leaving Fox Sports Net, but never went quite as far as the weekly pay per view raunchiness again.
* The X Division, TNA's crossover between a hardcore division and a cruiserweight division. It emphasizes high-flying moves and fast-paced action with no imposed limits, except for an angle in which a weight limit ''was'' imposed.
* Spotlighting their women's (Knockouts) division, at times regarded as the best source of actual women's wrestling on North American television (giving the US mainland something to compete with the rest of the region after a four year dry spell).
* Having a ''considerably'' large number of ex-Wrestling/{{WCW}}, ex-Wrestling/{{ECW}} and ex-WWE wrestlers on their roster, most prominently Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/KurtAngle, and Wrestling/{{Sting}}. Other familiar faces included first Wrestling/DustyRhodes and later Wrestling/EricBischoff, two men who put a spotlight on their sons ([[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin Rhodes]] and Garrett Bischoff, respectively).
* Their frequent/infrequent use of a six-sided ring. The company started out with a four-sided ring during their weekly PPV era, then began using the six-sided one when Impact premiered on Fox Sports Net in June 2004. The six sides stayed with the show when it moved to Spike, until the four-sided ring returned for the start of the Wrestling/HulkHogan era in January 2010. A (extremely favorable) fan poll brought back the six sides in June 2014, but it was dropped in January 2018 at the first tapings of the year. Supporters claimed it gave the company a distinct identity. Chastisers claimed it was considered a pointless gimmick, with most wrestlers also possessing a chagrin towards it due to the inherently stiffer ropes and a general lack of experience. Naturally, liberal amounts of TheyChangedItNowItSucks have accompanied each change.
* A plethora of GimmickMatches and overbooked main events. The fans often blamed Wrestling/VinceRusso, who was one of their writers for a number of years [[note]]but was only head of creative from mid-2009, with Jarrett's departure, to the beginning of 2010, when Hogan and Bischoff arrived[[/note]], for the majority of the more ridiculous ideas allowed to air.
* Occasionally acting as an UnknownRival to [=WWE=] with [[TakeThat cheap shots]] and insider gags at their expense. For example: after a report circulated online about WWE excising the word "wrestling" from their promotions, TNA immediately changed its slogan to "We Are Wrestling" and their advertising to emphasize how they were a ''wrestling'' company. WWE, to its credit, ''does'' keep tabs on TNA and even had the good grace to inform them when one of TNA's ex-employees [[http://www.pwrshow.com/index.php/s5-flex-menu-25050/pwrverifiednews/3391-extensive-details-on-tna-wwe-lawsuit-wittenstein-alleged-to-have-emailed-entire-roster-contracts attempted corporate espionage]].
* ''Ring Ka King'', an Indian wrestling promotion/TV show and {{Spinoff}} that was run by Jeff Jarrett. It featured a number of TNA talents (in addition to original Indian talent) and received generally favorable reviews and ratings. Despite its success, however, it was not renewed for a second season and was effectively replaced by the unaffiliated CWE. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC9jp6ldPKs You can watch the entire television series on YouTube]].
* Their love of invasion/takeover angles, thanks to the FleetingDemographicRule. From its inception in 2002 up through October 2015, TNA spent over 59% of the time[[note]]95/160 months[[/note]] [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs under siege by a hostile force]]. And when it was time to turn TNA into GFW, guess what they did? That's right, one last invasion angle, only this time, the invaders win and replace the old promotion entirely. Of course, with the termination of the agreement between Impact and GFW and the reversion back to the former's name and logo, the invaders ''still'' lost in the end.

TNA currently have four champions that they recognize:

* '''Impact World Champion:''' '''Brian Cage''' since April 28, 2019
* '''X-Division Championship:''' '''Rich Swann''' since January 6, 2019
* '''World Tag Team Champions:''' '''The Lucha Bros.''' ('''Pentagon Jr.''' and '''Fenix''') since January 12, 2019, 2019 [[note]]Aired on tape delay February 8, 2019[[/note]]
* '''Knockouts Champion:''' '''Taya Valkyrie''' since January 6, 2019

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!!"We know ''those'' tropes, Taz! What are ''they'' doing in the Impact Zone?"
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: A–D]]
* AbortedArc:
** [[Wrestling/BrookeAdams Miss Tessmacher]] being trained to wrestle, since her teacher Lacey Von Erich [[RealLifeWritesThePlot has left the company]], on top of Tessmacher breaking her jaw. Tessmacher got better, and has held the Knockouts title.
** Who was Samoa Joe abducted by? Where is the Nation of Violence thing? And since Joe was the first to proclaim that "They" had spoken, why wasn't he in Immortal?
** Remember when D'Angelo Dinero was a contender for the world title instead of a blink-and-you'll-miss-him midcarder?
** The Network, especially who the representative was after Mick Foley was PutOnABus.
** TNA has a strange habit of building people up and booking them in major story arcs in the immediate run-up to their contracts expiring, and then either refusing to give them a new contract that reflects their status, or simply demanding huge pay cuts from their new stars, apparently oblivious to the bargaining power that they themselves put in these people's hands. These wrestlers often quit in disgust, stopping their storylines cold.
* AccuserOfTheBrethren: This was Jeff Jarrett's vendetta against Jeff Hardy in late 2011 after Hardy [[HeelFaceReturn returned as a face]] to atone for his infamous performance at Victory Road.
* TheAce: Shall forever be Wrestling/AJStyles. The X Division is largely what put TNA on the map and AJ was its first champion.
* ActionGirl: The TNA Knockouts division, [[BadassDecay though its reputation sank during the start of Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich's joint run at the top of it]], going so far as to be [[RealWomenDontWearDresses the onscreen reason]] ODB and Jacqueline returned. It took Wrestling/GailKim's return to recover the spirit of the division.
* {{Acrofatic}}: Samoa Joe is the most famous, but Ryota Hama (from TNA's crossover with Wrestle-1) just might be the most impressive example at 5'9", 400 lbs doing rolling sentons.
* AdaptationDistillation: A rare case in pro wrestling in which a promotion can claim House Show Distillation. TNA's house shows are well liked for their matches (often compared to the weekly pay-per-view era) and the meet and greets before and after the show.
* AffablyEvil: It was pretty hard to hate the on-screen leaders of Immortal and the heel version of Wrestling/{{Fortune}} (Eric Bischoff and Wrestling/RicFlair, respectively).
* TheAlcoholic: James Storm. Even Jackie Moore was astounded by his consumption.
* AllAmericanFace: Wrestling/KurtAngle, when he's a face. To a somewhat lesser extent, "Team TNA" / "Team USA" in any World X Cup Tournament.
* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Wrestling/AcesAndEights, which is based on another club.
* AnimalMotifs: Owls, [[FanNickname appropriately dubbed the LOWLTNA,]] since the company's makeover by Anthem. [[https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/L_AiDa117Eqq1lEUYPDRkC3hSuw=/0x0:497x369/1020x680/filters:focal(210x146:288x224):format(webp)/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53465841/AnthemImpact.0.png This was their first logo]].
* AncientConspiracy: Immortal were treated like this. Aside from Abyss's name for [[{{Pun}} them]] before ''Bound For Glory'' "10.10.10", and aside from the glaring fact that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff notoriously gave [=WCW=]'s life to the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder over a decade ago, there's the fact that Sting had been shouting in tongues about the nefarious evils of Hogan/Bischoff since they'd arrived in TNA yet few other characters ever listened. Also, [[TheBadGuyWins they got away with it]].
* AnswersToTheNameOfGod: In his TNA run, Ric Flair literally claimed to be not ''a'' wrestling god, but ''the'' wrestling equivalent of ''{{God}}''.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Abyss kidnaps Dixie Carter, who then demands he be fired ''immediately''. Eric Bischoff then gets the contract for Dixie to sign, stating outloud that they were the forms for the release of Abyss. The next week, it emerges that Bischoff didn't have Dixie sign Abyss's release, ''he had her sign over the company to him & Hulk Hogan''. Dixie's lawyer threatens to take Eric to court over the matter, but Eric says that Dixie signed the contracts in front of the television cameras of an internationally broadcast show, so they wouldn't beat him. ''Even though that same footage features Eric saying the forms were for the the release of Abyss'', and the lawyer would have kept a copy of what he faxed over & could easily prove that it didn't match the signed contract, so any court would immediately rule in her favour. Even dumber is that Hulk Hogan actually looks Dixie in the eye and says outright "I screwed you out of your company", therfore admitting to the fraud ''in front of more television cameras''. Just when it seemed to be at least subverted a couple months later when Dixie came back with paperwork of an injunction she got placed on Hogan, the judge (who was "friends" with Dixie) ruled not only was Bischoff completely in the legal right when he used a fake contract to get control of the company, he ALSO ruled that Dixie was still FINANCIALLY responsible for TNA. Try to find that in a Contract Law casebook.
* AscendedFanboy: When Amazing Red first wrestled for TNA, color commentator Don West was a ''huge'' fan & would mark out every time Red was in a match, at one point even climbing on top of the announce table to lead a "Let's go Red!" chant. When Amazing Red returned to the company after West's heel turn & Taz replacing West on commentary, West was promptly turned face & made Red's manager.
* BShow: ''TNA Xplosion'', to the point that it's now only seen in international markets and no longer airs in the United States. Even some of the stations that did keep it long term showed "iMPACT" in it's place in between the Fox Sports Net and Spike TV deals.
* TheBadGuyWins: ''Bound For Glory'' "10.10.10." and ''Turning Point'', the following PPV. Barely subverted at "Genesis" 2K11 (See NearVillainVictory). Between Turning Point 2011 and Against All Odds 2012, all the champions were heels.
* BetweenMyLegs: This kind of shot was used for several years for entrances, with [=SoCal=] Val's legs doing the framing. Also occasionally done these days using ring announcer Wrestling/ChristyHemme.
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: This is basically the gimmick that Wrestling/MickieJames played up when she first arrived in TNA in 2010, underscoring her Native American heritage with, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin beads and buckskins]] (no braids, though) and the 1970s hard-rock theme "Hardcore Country" (with its "primitive" guitar sound). She has kept "Hardcore Country" into 2011, but now goes for a more generic, [[DeepSouth traditionally Southern look]] (she's from Virginia).
* BreakingTheFourthWall: One of THE most blatant and needless examples of this in the history of scripted television came from Hulk Hogan on ''Re[==]Action'' November 18th, 2010:
--> '''Hogan:''' Well, brother, we're lightening the load around here. We're trimming the fat. We're thinning the herd. I mean, you know, it's pathetic. It's pathetic, that Dixie would let this company get in the shape it's in. It's her train of thought! Raven? Who hasn't had a damn shower or bath? Y'know, with RVD, and that whole crew out there? They meant to professional wrestling what Hulk Hogan, who sold out Shea Stadium? who put 94,000 people in the Pontiac Silverdome? who slammed a 700-pound giant? They mean to professional wrestling what Hulk Hogan means?
--> "No wonder this company ''was'' in the shape it's in. It's time to get rid o' the trash, the garbage, the worthless piece of crap out here, and we started with Dixie Carter. Yeah, we're gettin' ''very'' real around here. We are so, real, it's unbelievable. Because, if you don't get over like I said, you're fired. If you don't draw number, if you don't entertain, if you don't put asses in seats, if you don't put the coinage in the piggy bank, you're fired. No more games. No more, "[[FourthWall Kayfabe]]." "It's a work." "I've won 34 tag team belts." Who gives a damn, how many... fake belts you won!? If you don't draw money, you get fired around here. If you don't put asses in seats, you’re gone.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Rob Van Dam, who defeated Sting in about ten seconds during his surprise debut in TNA, only to [[CurbStompBattle immediately receive a hellacious minutes-long beatdown from Sting and his trademark black bat]]. Especially bad when security holds back Hulk Hogan, who is trying to ''help'' Wrestling/RobVanDam... and they completely ignore Sting ''as he continues to beat the holy hell out of RVD while security does nothing.'' This can be somewhat justified in both parts. Sting was rehabbing from shoulder surgery and was limited in what he could do in-ring (though he didn't bother to inform anyone beforehand), which was why RVD went over so quickly. And the reason why the beatdown went so long? Hogan missed his cue and was late to the ring.
* BrooklynRage: Brother Ray's (aka Bubba Ray Dudley's) repackaging into Bully Ray centered on two things: Putting on ''a lot'' more aggresion, and putting ''a lot'' of emphasis on him being from New York.
* TheBrute:
** Abyss is arguably the biggest powerhouse the promotion has ever had, being huge and being very good at brawling, whenever he's heel at least.
** Tomko was clearly the most physically imposing member of Christian's Coalition/The Angle Alliance.
** Likewise, Matt Morgan was the most physically imposing member of Fortune.
* CallBack: Part of the reasoning behind "Open Fight Night" which gives wrestlers a chance to seek retribution for incidents that had previously been LeftHanging. For example, on the very first OFN, Devon (the Television Champion) called out Bully Ray, who he had hardly interacted with at all since their split a year earlier.
* CanonDiscontinuity: The most common reaction to people meeting Joseph Park? "I didn't even know Abyss had a brother!" [[FleetingDemographicRule Apparently]], Father James Mitchell and Judas Mesias never existed.
* CaptainErsatz:
** Abyss is strikingly similar to Wrestling/{{Kane}}, even going so far as to use the Chokeslam as a finishing maneuver. He also bears a resemblance to Wrestling/MickFoley (especially in his Mankind persona), what with the hardcore wrestling and the outfit he used to wear. This didn't go unnoticed when Foley himself actually came to TNA; he feuded with Abyss for a while, then took him under his wing.
** Beer Money. Sound familiar? Oh yeah: the APA! It could also be said that they're a CaptainErsatz of Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield himself [[DecompositeCharacter split in two]] (James Storm being {{face}} Bradshaw and Robert Roode, {{heel}} Bradshaw/JBL).
** Wrestling/KenAnderson grew up in the podunk town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, admiring fellow small-town boy Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. Now in TNA, as "Mr. Anderson" he has had the opportunity to recreate the enormous success Austin enjoyed in WWE in the late 1990s and early 2000s, paying tribute to his idol with a similar WildCard moral alignment and [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority a crowd-pleasing anti-establishment attitude]].
* TheCassandra:
** Sting, who warned everyone about Hogan and Bischoff and was seen as a heel because of it.
** Hogan himself became this in regards to his initial feelings on Bully Ray at the start of the "Bully and Brooke" storyline.
* CelebrityParadox: Played with whenever TNA airs a skit set in the "real" world. Wrestlers such as Jeff Jarrett or Eric Young interact with ordinary mortals who don't seem to have a clue who they are, even though they're on national TV every week. Given their ratings, though...
* ChekhovsGun: TNA seems to thrive on unintentional examples of this trope.
** During the initial Immortal conspiracy, Flair was originally saying "They" were Fortune before Abyss outed that as a lie. So naturally the counter-conspiracy a few months later [[RealLifeWritesThePlot ended up]] with [[IronicEcho "Them" being Fortune]].
** Tomko was owed a world heavyweight title shot since he beat Samoa Joe once in 2007 as a favor to then-current champ [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} Christian Cage]]. About three years later in 2010 he got this world title shot... by pissing off his former Coalition partner and then-current champ Wrestling/AJStyles when he revealed himself to be AJ's mystery assailant.
** Bram's initial angle in TNA was confronting Magnus for going soft and becoming a disgrace in a suit during his Team Dixie-backed world title reign, which had concluded not long before. The year after, following Bram's final falling-out with Magnus, Bram ended up being partnered with Dixie's nephew [[Wrestling/EC3 Ethan Carter III]] in a tag team title tournament—during which Bram made it perfectly clear he neither liked nor trusted [=EC3=].
* ChristianityIsCatholic: D'Angelo Dinero, a supposed evangelical (Protestant) street preacher, has been nicknamed "The Pope."
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
** Brian Kendrick's gimmick at one point seemed to be that he believed himself to be a [[Franchise/StarWars Jedi master]], complete with Obi-Wan Kenobi robe. He later stopped cutting as many promos towards the end of his run, making him seem more as just a generic karate guy in white pantaloons to those who hadn't seen his feud with Fortune.
** To a lesser extent, Abyss. For starters, there's the storyline in which Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame ring acted as a MagicFeather for Abyss, as he believed that it gave him power, a la a Green Lantern ring.
** Daffney, much like her time in WCW, though in her TNA run it really says something that her most "normal" period in the company was when she was impersonating Sarah Palin, before going on to join Dr. Stevie Richards' psychiatrist gimmick.
* ConspiracyRedemption: The Immortal angle, which revolved around Wrestling/HulkHogan and Wrestling/EricBischoff's secret plan to take over pro wrestling, [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs starting with TNA]], involved absorbing Wrestling/RicFlair's [[Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen Four Horsemen]] SpiritualSuccessor group, Wrestling/{{Fortune}}, but while Flair was away, Fortune rebelled due to Bischoff {{mistreat|mentInducedBetrayal}}ing them (especially Wrestling/AJStyles) and Fortune [[DracoInLeatherPants had basically been babyfaces the entire time anyway]].
* CounterpartCombatCoordination: This is the draw of The World Cup Of Wrestling (not to be confused with the World X Cup, which is almost the exact opposite). Every team must have one wrestler to represent each of TNA's active title belts and they must face off against the wrestlers from the other teams in the same category. The team with the most wins, wins.
* ContinuityNod: Part of the reasoning behind "Open Fight Night" which gives wrestlers a chance to seek retribution for incidents that had previously been LeftHanging. For example, on the very first OFN, Devon (the Television Champion) called out Bully Ray, who he had hardly interacted with at all since their split a year earlier.
* CoolMask: Abyss, [[UnfortunateNames Suicide]]/[[RetCon Manik]], and [[AnimalMotifs Tigre Uno]]
* CorruptCop: TNA Security Guards Gunner and Murphy. And this is ''before'' they worked for Immortal.
* {{Crossover}}
** Formerly with the other [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] members, Wrestling/RingOfHonor, Wrestling/ProWrestlingGuerilla, IWA Puerto Rico and Wrestling/{{CMLL}}. Occasionally with WWC and [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling NJPW]]. Periodically with Wrestling/{{AAA}} until Jarrett left (he plans to ally them with GFW). Teased with House Of Hardcore.
** TNA personnel were ''not'' pleased when they discovered front row tickets to the 2008 ''Turning Point'' had been bought by Shaggy 2 Dope, Violent J, 2 Tuff Tony and Corporal Robinson, men who along with TNA alumnus Wrestling/ScottHall, made up the "[[Wrestling/JuggaloChampionshipWrestling Juggalo World Order]]". They were even less pleased when Sheik Abdull Bashir decided to sell the invasion and slap a heckling Tony.
** ''W-1 WRESTLE-1 Kaisen: Outbreak'' and ''WRESTLE-1 presents: TNAW Bound for Glory 2014'', ''W-1 Fighting Entertainment WRESTLE-1 ~ Impact ~''
** World Wrestling League vs TNA, Campeón vs Campeón, [[http://superluchas.net/2014/11/25/wwl-vs-tna-en-navidad-corporativa/ Glamour Boy Shane vs Bobby Roode!]] Match ended up not happening though due to a delayed flight. So The Revolution took on La Artilleria Pesada instead.
** ''IW vs LU'', [[Wrestling/LuchaUnderground can't imagine what that was about]].
* DarkerAndEdgier: You don't have to watch this program too long to figure out that TNA is noticeably less gimmicky and comedy-oriented than WWE. This is exactly what they set out to be in hopes to draw a more mature audience than their older counterpart. That said, there are exceptions. The MagicFeather Hall of Fame rings and Jeff Jarrett doing every menial job in existence at the behest of cartoonishly evil Eric Bischoff, Eric Young's antics...
* DeadMansHand: The [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels biker gang]] invading TNA in the summer and fall of 2012 used the aces and eights as their name and calling card.
* DealWithTheDevil: Joining Immortal was largely treated as this, which was only fitting considering the nature of that outfit.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: When Daniels and Kazarian won the tag titles they started calling themselves "The World Tag Team Champions of the World."
* DespairEventHorizon: After the rise of Immortal, Sting and Nash [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere decide to leave rather than fight or join them]]. [[HesBack Sting later had a change of heart]].
* TheDogBitesBack: Treating AJ Styles and Matt Morgan like crap came back to haunt Eric Bischoff, as it made both make a HeelFaceTurn on him, AJ taking Fortune with him and forming the first real threat to Immortal. A lesser example happened later when Bischoff insulted most of the X Division. Later that night, he and Hogan find "You're next" written on the side of their car, leaving them even more paranoid than they already were. Cut to the same wrestlers Bischoff was insulting earlier laughing and high fiving each other.
* TheThemeParkVersion: Literally, as they broadcast their TV shows and InNameOnly [=PPV=]s ''from'' the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando.
* DumbIsGood: Dixie Carter in her (on-screen) role as TNA President. Well-meaning and filled with IncorruptiblePurePureness, but ''always'' gets outwitted by the evil {{Heel}}s that try to take over or manipulate her company. It sends a bit of a mixed message when the roster are also making comments about what an intelligent and inspirational leader she is. With her FaceHeelTurn at the end of 2013 she's become a lot more cunning.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: E–M]]
* EvilPowerVacuum: TNA has spent ''half its existence'' constantly dealing with some heel, mega-faction, which inevitably falls to in-fighting before the remnants are outright destroyed all together. Then we got at most a year before another one comes along and the whole process repeats itself.
* EvilVsEvil:
** Until Vince Russo left, this happened ''[[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor constantly]]''. Even internally, most wrestlers had trouble cooperating with their own tag teams and stables, with loads of [[StupidEvil in-fighting and betrayals]], so the average fan likely couldn't tell who's a face and who's a heel (despite the fact that, for a couple of years, they had [[GoodColorsEvilColors separate entrances for faces and heels]]).
** One of Vince Russo's credos is that pure faces and pure heels don't exist in life, and that all "[[InsistentTerminology characters]]" should be "[[GrayAndGreyMorality shades of gray]]". This is why it was so hard to tell the heels from the faces and why the booking could be so inconsistent. It would be one thing if Russo's idea of GrayAndGreyMorality was to have the faces exhibit some heelish traits occasionally, a la "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or Wrestling/TheUndertaker, or if he had faces sometimes act selfish the way Wrestling/CMPunk did when he cashed in his [=MITB=] contract on a beaten and exhausted Wrestling/JeffHardy while still a face. The problem is that Russo's idea of GrayAndGreyMorality involves wrestlers acting like they're 100% face one week, and then going to 100% heel the next. Beer Money did a FaceHeelTurn for no real reason, while Eric Bischoff and Mr. Anderson have done [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]] for no reason that was adequately explained. It's like the old character has been abducted and replaced with their [[EvilTwin evil (or good) twin]].
* {{Expy}}:
** Upon the revealing of the new Impact Wrestling set, fans were already comparing it to the set of ''[=WCW=] Thunder''.
** The Aces and Eights are pretty obviously a wrestling version of SAMCRO from ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy.'' Various tweets from TNA wrestlers that imply nearly the entire roster are big fans of the series make this pretty obvious.
* FauxAffablyEvil: It was pretty hard ''not'' to hate Jeff Jarrett and (the former) Karen Angle both in their Immortal run in 2011 and their brief GFW Invasion run in 2015. They were essentially the main reason Dixie Carter didn't get booed for her character's stupidity.
* FleetingDemographicRule:
** Try to count the number of times that a {{Heel}} super-faction ([[{{Expy}} not at all resembling WCW's New World Order]]) have attempted to control the company through force: Sports Entertainment Xtreme (2002-2003), Planet Jarrett (2005-2006), the Main Event Mafia (2008-2010), Immortal (2010-2012), Aces & Eights (2012-2013), Dixieland (2013-2014) the Beat Down Clan (2014-2015), the Kingdom of Miracles (2016-2017, though their attempted takeover was far more subtle due to being a mostly female stable). To put this in perspective, since its inception in 2002, to Aces & Eights in 2013, TNA has been under siege just over 55% of the time, and as you can see, no, Aces and Eights would not be the last group to do this. Also note that three of those seven factions (Sports Entertainment Xtreme, Main Event Mafia and Immortal) were essentially the same "Old Guard vs. New Guard" storyline in different wrapping paper.
** 2003: Fox Sports Net has two Wrestling Programs with an "Impact Zone" (Zona Impactante), TNA and IWA. IWA runs an angle where Savio Vega must be suspended in a cage if Super Phoenix is to get a title shot at Ray González. 2010, TNA has been on Spike TV for awhile and Savio Vega is working on Xplosion... is Cookie being suspended in a cage during a title match between Wrestling/JayLethal and Robbie E? [[spoiler: Is she dropping brass knuckles from the cage, just like Vega did?]] TNA liked this one so much it happened again in 2012 with Madison Rayne being suspended above Mickie James and Gail Kim.
** Wrestling/AJStyles's "Leaving with the Title" storyline with Dixie Carter at the end of 2013 has been noted as highly similar to Wrestling/CMPunk's famous storyline (which he did ''twice'', once in two different companies) that would launch him into superstardom, with the only difference being that AJ was gone longer. It didn't catch on, mainly because Dixie Carter makes a poor replacement for Wrestling/VinceMcMahon and because everybody was sure that AJ, a well-known company man, was still with the company, whereas with Punk everything was kind of up in the air due to Punk's well-known real life animosity towards WWE management. It was then {{subverted|Trope}} by the facts that AJ and TNA's actual contract negotiations fell through without a deal in place and he didn't return, and he was sent off in one of the most blatantly overbooked screwjob matches ever in an attempt to keep him looking strong on the way out.
* ForeignWrestlingHeel:
** [[Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa Raisha Saeed]] and Control Terrorism Unit (C.T.U.) when they were in the World X Cup 2006. In fairness, C.T.U. was (supposed to be) a heel unit in its home promotion too.
** Several World X Cup teams are treated as heels, but this is partially because they actually ''act like heels'' instead of just being foreign.
** Team Canada was this until the breakup. Then former Team Canada member Eric Young joined up with the British Invasion, Sheik Abdul Bashir, Kiyoshi, No Limit, and Homicide to create the World Elite, which was basically this until they disappeared following the arrival of Hulk Hogan (and the departure of Bashir).
** Somewhat averted by [[Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness Desmond Wolfe]]: he wasn't a British jerk, but rather, he was a jerk that just happens to be British. Being British didn't really come up in his character except in his accent. He used a few American colloquialisms, which sounded a little off with his thick British accent. When he used the term Ghetto Booty, some realized they were going for ForeignWrestlingHeel, just surprisingly subtly.
** Avoided with Sarita and her ''[[BilingualBonus prima]]'' [[Wrestling/TheaTrinidad Rosita]]. They are Mexican, and have been known to lapse into GratuitousSpanish on occasion, but otherwise they don't really come off as foreign. Same with Hernandez, who dresses like a Chicano homeboy but was serving as muscle for the primary Anglo-American faction Immortal...until March/April 2011. The above three, plus a new wrestler named [[MeaningfulName "Anarquia"]] joined forces as "Mexican America," a faction of [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain gringo-hating Chicano extremists]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName plotting a Nazi-style takeover of the United States]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** During their time with Immortal, Fortune were giving constant hints in backstage segments toward how they could only trust "the core four" (each other/themselves), and Robert Roode even once said in an interview that he envisioned them holding all the gold, even going so far as to say he saw AJ regaining the World Heavyweight Championship. ''This was while Jeff Hardy was World Heavyweight Champion.''
** When Bully Ray told Hulk Hogan during what appeared to be a HeelFaceTurn he wasn't a "good guy," he meant it. In fact there were a number of things Bully said which may as well have been hanging lampshades on his true intentions: telling the camera interviewer on ''Re-Action'' that he'd do anything to become world heavyweight champion, promising Hulk the night of his title match that he'd do something memorable, and even saying prior to the storyline starting that he wanted to become champion to piss off the wrestling world.
** They tried to invoke this at one point with the breakup of Christian's Coalition, but it didn't come across well at all. Tomko was leaving to fly to Japan for a defense of his IWGP World Tag Team Championship, with AJ Styles wanting to come along until Christian Cage came and pulled AJ back to stay with him. Mike Tenay tried to sell this as "friction" within the Coalition, but the segment itself didn't hint at any conflict between the three, and considering Styles and Cage were both in an eight-man tag team match later that night, it wasn't exactly unjustified.
* FourIsDeath: Fortune, despite usually having more than four members. Wrestling/RicFlair intended for them to be another chapter in the legacy of his old group Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen, the "Fortune 4" was the name of both their theme and their symbol, the group's name used to be spelled "Fourtune" early, the first four wrestlers Flair brought in to complete the group had an established "core" bond between them, and there were even a total of eight members (two times four) in the group's history.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The core four members of Fortune. Sanguine James Storm, Choleric AJ Styles, Melancholic/Leukine Bobby Roode, Phlegmatic Kazarian.
* FunWithAcronyms: '''S'''ports '''E'''ntertainment '''X'''treme, '''V'''oodoo '''K'''in '''M'''afia. The TNA name also qualifies.[[note]]'''VKM''' is Wrestling/VinceMcMahon - middle name 'Kennedy'.[[/note]]
* GameShowAppearance: The team of Mick Foley, Matt Morgan, Rob Van Dam, Jay Lethal and Mr. Anderson squashed the team of Tara, Lacey Von Erich, Christy Hemme, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky on the "TNA Wrestling Special" week on ''Series/FamilyFeud'', November 1-5, 2010.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** Not exactly since they're not trying to sneak a curse word by, but it's surprising that they can say "asshole" on cable so often and keep a TV-14 rating.
** Somehow Dixie Carter got away with calling Eric Bischoff a "little smug shit" on this TV-14 television show. Even TV-MA {{Fanservice}}-filled ''Series/{{Manswers}}'' doesn't typically get away with this from Creator/SpikeTV. Dixie would later thank Spike for allowing her that swear.
** Since mid-2012, SmugSnake Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels has adopted the tendency to tape his fingers in black and showing the hand off to the crowd, but not [[FlippingTheBird his thumb and middle fingers]].
* GimmickMatches:
** TNA has invented more than a few; they were apparently so obsessed with all types of these that Kurt Angle himself once said TNA puts on "too many gimmick matches" in an ESPN interview.
** The six-sided ring itself could have been its own gimmick match but TNA has yet to seriously use the styles of wrestling it was built for.
** Might have established a new low with the infamous Reverse Battle Royal.
** Nearly surpassed it with the ungainly red (bird)cage as the opening match under the Hogan regime. Poor Homicide trying to climb out of it to no avail (think [[Film/FullMetalJacket Pvt. Pyle]] on the obstacle course).
* GirlPosse: The Beautiful People. Dollhouse to a lesser extent, qualifying mostly due to Taryn Terrell's ItsAllAboutMe attitude being strong enough to make her an AlphaBitch, as they were more motivated by ''her'' bitterness than the vanity, sadism ''or'' comradeship of the former.
* GlassJawReferee: Averted by Shane Sewell, whose Puerto Rican wrestling background was acknowledged.
* GoldDigger: Karen Angle (later Jarrett) gimmick seemed to be riding on the coattails of Kurt Angle and, early on, Jeff Jarrett. With Jarrett they eventually became genuine, though sickening, sweethearts.
* GreaterScopeParagon:
** Jerry Jarrett was initially this. The other owner, Wrestling/JeffJarrett, was an active wrestler and thus alternated between TheBigBad, BigBadWannabe, TheHeavy, HeroicWannabe and {{Spotlight Stealing|Squad}} Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA World Heavyweight Champion while wrestlers like Wrestling/AJStyles, Wrestling/SamoaJoe, Wrestling/KurtAngle or Wrestling/JeffHardy more appropriately acted as TheHero and authority figures like Vince Russo, Wrestling/JimCornette or Wrestling/DustyRhodes acted as the big good in the day to day running of the company.
** After Panda Energy bought TNA Dixie Carter became the company president and the defacto BigGood with Wrestling/EricBischoff (after a HeelFaceTurn) or Wrestling/MickFoley as a network representative acting as the big good in her stead when she was indisposed. The network therefore became the greatest scope paragon given Foley answered to them against the schemes of Immortal. However, a nebulous "board of directors" has also been shown to have the power to overrule Dixie Carter (after she underwent a FaceHeelTurn) and replace director of Wrestling Operations Wrestling/{{M|ontelVontaviousPorter}}VP (after he was supposed to replace heel turned Carter [[MeetTheNewBoss but himself underwent a face heel turn]]) with Wrestling/KurtAngle, suggesting Panda Energy TNA has ''two'' greater scope paragons. Both of these are mainly used as {{plot device}}s when the baby faces [[OnlyTheAuthorCanSaveThemNow cannot win on their own]], particularly the latter, which is [[GrandfatherClause an artifact]] from the time TNA was an NWA member.
* HesBack: After all of the BadassDecay that came with being a Hulk Hogan fanboy, Abyss finally turned on Hogan and made it clear he was no longer a monster in name only. He was now a ''real'' monster who choked out Hulk Hogan, laid out Rob Van Dam when he ran out to help, and shrugged off multiple chair shots from Mr. Anderson when ''he'' ran out to help. He has been able to [[NoSell withstand ridiculous amounts of punishment]], shown no trace of fear toward any of his opponents, acts very AxCrazy, and put Rob Van Dam on the shelf (kayfabe) in 2010.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: As per Russo booking. One of TNA's biggest issues is that wrestlers switch alignment so often that the fans have no idea who is what, and therefore who to cheer. Nominally, in the WWE you only turn if your gimmick is getting stale -- you only turn as quick as TNA wrestler does if your previous turn is ill-conceived or ill-received, and once you complete the turn you stay with that alignment for a good while. In TNA, you flip-flop like every six or so months, which is nowhere near enough time for a wrestler to get over completely with their new act. Other times the turns make no sense or shouldn't happen at all from a business standpoint (see: Jeff Hardy). This issue only started to correct itself when Russo left the company in 2012, and more or less stopped when he was gone for good in 2014.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Aces & Eights. It took over eight months after their debut to provide an agenda to their actions. It ''seemed'' to be a {{Cult}} of vengeful wrestlers who felt "wronged" by TNA in some way: at least one member has alluded to a "Higher power" (contrast this with [=WCW=]'s New World Order angle, in which Scott Hall stated ''exactly'' what the group's goal was in his first appearance). Their agenda was eventually revealed to be Bully Ray gaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Had Bully Ray won the Bound for Glory series the first time around, he would have gladly revealed their goal.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** Before Fortune's defection, this was literally the only reason Jeff Jarrett stopped beating up plant fans in his Double-J-Double-MA challenge, Jeff Hardy ever lost the World Heavyweight Championship, and Immortal's iron fist hadn't completely choked TNA.
** There's a bit of a pattern in TNA where guys who've had a history of turning their backs on partners and friends end up finally taking a taste of their own medicine. See Wrestling/{{Christian}}, Wrestling/JamesStorm, and [[TheGiant Matt Morgan]].
* ICallItVera: Abyss' nail covered 2x4, "Janice," and his "10.10.10" branding iron "Bob." Though it was never stated, these weapons [[MeaningfulName were named after Dixie Carter's parents,]] {{Foreshadowing}} her forceful exit from the company.
* InsistentTerminology: TNA refers to gimmick matches they create as "concept matches". There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOwBJu5Hfzk that one video]] in which TNA Director of Production Steve Small refers to the audience as "cast members". Probably so they can be "fired."
* LargeHam:
** TNA Superstars do tend to be more reserved than WWE Superstars, but Father Wrestling/JamesMitchell was pretty hammy, but what else would you expect from a guy whose previous character the Sinister Minister was supposed to be ''{{Satan}}?''
** Not to mention Ric Flair and Mr. Anderson.
** Jay Lethal was hammy enough for most of the roster.
** In his last years in the company, Christopher Daniels had taken up the role of hammiest guy in the company, with his tag partner Kazarian not far behind.
* LaxativePrank: Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley, and Chris Sabin once slipped laxatives into Petey Williams' water bottle.
* LighterAndSofter: TNA of all companies decided to go "family friendly" when it showed up on Fox Sports Net. Well, their pay per views were not but the television program had much less blood, profanity, [[AccidentalPun T&A]] and the like, proudly boasting all they needed was "'''''Six''''' Appeal". This was almost immediately reverted when they moved to Spike TV and showed Jacqueline moderating a drinking contest.
* TheManBehindTheMan: "[[Creator/SpikeTV The Network]]," whoever they are. (They're actually a nonvillainous example, constantly checkmating all of Immortal's moves, albeit only in the interest of TV ratings.) The executive behind the Network's activity turned out to be Mick Foley. Until he [[{{Kayfabe}} got]] [[PutOnABus fired]]. Now it's pretty much unknown, because the Network storyline was dropped shortly after Foley's departure.
* MatryoshkaObject: Sports Entertainment Xtreme was a PowerStable so large [[RecursiveReality it had its own power stables inside of it.]]
* MassiveMultiplayerScam: So Abyss kidnaps Dixie Carter, who then demands he be fired ''immediately''. Eric Bischoff then gets a contract for Dixie to sign, stating outloud that they were the forms for the release of Abyss. The next week, it emerges that Bischoff didn't have Dixie sign Abyss's release, ''he had her sign over the company to him and Hulk Hogan''.
* MeetTheNewBoss: MVP, Director of Wrestling Operations. Same as Dixie Carter except he can also wrestle (at least when his knee's not blown out).
* MightyWhitey: Jeff Jarrett's "King of Mexico" gimmick (after winning the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mexico/aaa/aaa-h.html AAA Mega Championship]] and bringing it to the United States).
* MsFanservice: The Miss TNA title was a subversion, at least in theory, as it was awarded in a battle royal to the last participant to avoid being stripped of her clothing. Really subverted in that the second Miss TNA was Bruce, though he later gave the title to a woman, who then vacated it.
* MoodWhiplash: During the 2011 ''No Surrender'' pay-per-view (held on Sept. 11), Rosita was booed by fans as a heel running interference as part of Mexican America during the tag team title match. Later in the pay-per-view, Rosita brings up in an interview that her father died on 9/11, and inspired her to go into wrestling. The crowd acknowledged her breaking character with applause.
* MookHorrorShow: On the July 14, 2011, edition, Sting (who's been "coincidentally" mimicking [[Film/TheDarkKnight Heath Ledger's]] [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker "Joker"]] with his new makeup design) set loose a small group of clown-masked minions on Immortal. What follows pretty much played out like a slasher flick, with the clowns picking off Immortal one by one. Gunner even attempts to invoke [[FinalGirl Final Boy]] on them, which fails. Turns out the clowns were actually Fortune helping Sting out.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: At ''Turning Point'' 2011, Bully Ray and Scott Steiner were booked in a tag match. They cut a promo, with Bully Ray saying "You're in the ring with one half of the greatest tag team of all time, and Scott Steiner too!" Steiner didn't take kindly to this, causing him to shoot back "''I'm'' the greatest tag team of all time!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder: N–R]]
* NearVillainVictory: ''Genesis'' 2011, in which aside from Morgan/Anderson, not a single face won a match with Immortal managing to capture the rest of the titles. Then Bischoff got overconfident and booked the World Title match immediately after Anderson won the match, which led to Jeff Hardy losing the championship.
* NebulousEvilOrganization: Immortal, thanks to Abyss referencing it as "They/Them" during the lead-up to TheReveal at ''Bound for Glory'' "10.10.10."
* NecessarilyEvil: After doing a FaceHeelTurn in 2010, Sting claimed that it was this, as it was the only way he found to hinder Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan's actions (who had just came to TNA as "consultants"), who he ''immensely'' distrusted due to their mismanagement of WCW. [[TheCassandra Sting was right]].
* {{Nepotism}}:
** {{Kayfabe}} with James Mitchell claiming to be Abyss's "father."
** [[Wrestling/EC3 Ethan Carter III]], spoiled nephew of Dixie herself, portrayed by the man formerly known as Derrick Bateman in Wrestling/{{WWE}}. In fact, he seems to be a parody mixture of both this and the overpaid prima donna athlete.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Joseph Park asks Eric Young to help him find his brother Abyss. Young is the only guy on the roster who's wacky enough to not only deduce that Joseph Park ''is'' Abyss, but to seek to trigger the realization in the two alter egos. This results in Abyss turning on Young during a tag team title shot, beating Young in a Monster's Ball, and reacting to Young's unmasking him in said Monster's Ball by walking away to find someone who can "understand him" and help him "fix this". [[spoiler:This then crosses into ForWantOfANail when Abyss finds that someone in World Heavyweight Champion Magnus, who he proceeds to help screw Wrestling/SamoaJoe out of the world title at Lockdown.]]
* {{The Nicknamer}}s: Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, the (former) World Tag Team Champions of the World (or #WTTCOTW). Especially towards Hulk Hogan.
* NonIndicativeName: Considering how vulnerable Immortal seemed to be to various curveballs hurled at it by "The Network," it would be this and a literal case of NotQuiteForever.
* OddCouple: Orlando Jordan and Eric Young. Despite Jordan displaying every DepravedBisexual stereotype and Young being a ManChild who didn't realize that Jordan was coming onto him, they worked as a pretty good tag team. Also, Young later had this and ODB; Young still the manchild while ODB was the most axiomatic redneck pro wrestler of ''at least'' that decade. They nonetheless fell for each other.
* OneSteveLimit:
** Averted with Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy, who feuded in late 2011.
** Subverted when Brooke Tessmacher had to return to her old name of "Miss Tessmacher" following the controversial hiring of Brooke Hogan, while still occasionally being called Brooke by other wrestlers and even Hogan herself.
** The roster in 2012 included four wrestlers whose first names are variants of "Robert" - Robert (or Bobby) Roode, Rob Van Dam, Rob Terry and Robbie E. There's also Doug Williams and Petey Williams (no relation).
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Basically Wrestling/KevinNash's character during his 2006-2010 run was that he was in the company for the paycheck (and for fun).
* PartsUnknown:
** Abyss is billed from there.
** Judas Mesias, from "The Depths of Hell."
** Shark Boy, from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," later changed to "The Deep Blue Sea."
** Rosemary is from "the Valley of Shadows."
* PerkyGoth: Jeff Hardy and Daffney both wears corpse paint (and Jeff's fans are known as "Creatures of the Night"), but they're otherwise fun-loving and full of spirit, with Daffney deliriously screaming and laughing during her own matches and those of her friends. Rosemary has become this during her face run, especially when she's with Allie.
* PowerStable: These frequently dominated much of the roster. Sports Entertainment Xtreme, Planet Jarrett, The Angle Alliance, World Elite, The Main Event Mafia, Christian's Coalition, The Beautiful People, Fourtune, Immortal, Aces & Eights, these are but a few examples.
* PreviouslyOn: TNA, since 2012, have had one of these at the start of their episodes. And it always ends in "Impact Wrestling starts right now!"
* PutOnABus: Wrestling/SamoaJoe. Although it wasn't a bus, it was a {{van|inblack}}. And he wasn't "put" on it so much as he was "thrown into it by ninjas". And [[TheBusCameBack he came back]], with no explanation, some time afterward.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Fourtune basically served as the EliteMooks of Immortal for the latter's first four months, after having previously being a very popular stable on their own and having their own overarching theme, while also an individual quirky personality, which was familiar (namely, that they were a homage to Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen).
* RealWomenDontWearDresses: The purpose of Bitch Slap (Nurse Veronica, Traci Brooks, Cheerleader Valentina and Trinity), who aimed to get rid of TNA's cage dancers, April Pennington and Lollipop specifically. [[AbortedArc The Bitch Slap Stable and the Dancers themselves just disappeared without real resolution.]] Also, Jacqueline and ODB had this attitude toward the knockout division when they returned from their hiatus, "Knockout division" being shorthand for Velvet Sky.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Wrestling/JimCornette was one, to an extent. Eric Bischoff's tried to be one, after a HeelFaceTurn. Hulk Hogan was a better example. At least before TheReveal.
* TheReveal:
** The setup for Immortal. Abyss claimed that he was controlled by some entity – to which he referred to as "they" – and that they were coming to TNA. Abyss began prophesizing the arrival of "they" at Bound for Glory on October 10, 2010. The main event of Bound for Glory was a three–way match between Wrestling/JeffHardy, Mr. Anderson and Wrestling/KurtAngle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Near the end of the match, Eric Bischoff came to the ring with a chair and attempted to interfere with the match, but was stopped by Hulk Hogan. Hogan and Bischoff appeared to have a disagreement, but this was a ruse as they helped Hardy win the match, with all of them becoming heels. After the match, it was revealed that Abyss, Hardy, Bischoff, and Hogan, along with Jeff Jarrett were "they".
** Each time an Aces and Eights member, who initially were masked, was unmasked. The group started to kick into high gear when its first member to be unmasked turned out to be Devon, former member of Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys, then two other members were revealed to be WWE alumni Luke Gallows (who went as D.O.C.) and Mike Knox (who went as Knux), before its Vice President was revealed to be Wrestling/DLoBrown, a TNA official, and its President Bully Ray, the man supposedly leading the charge against them.
* RingOldies: Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Sting, Wrestling/ScottSteiner, and Kevin Nash, among others. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were added to the mix in 2010, Hogan with (apparently) the same amount of creative control he had during his time in WCW.
* RoyalWe: During the time period in which he singlehandedly held both tag team championship belts, Matt Morgan would refer to himself as "we" and "us". Christy Hemme simply stood there and looked confused all the while.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: S–Z]]
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: In-universe as part of the plot. For a while, the Network had an executive helping Sting to screw Immortal by keeping them under control, sending Bischoff and Hogan into a mild VillainousBreakdown. This person turned out to be Mick Foley, only for him to get fired ([[RealLifeWritesThePlot he actually requested a release]]) weeks later.
* ShoutOut:
** Hoping to capitalize on Orlando Jordan's RealLife [[BiTheWay bisexuality]], they had Jordan make his re-debut dressed as Music/LadyGaga from the video for "Telephone".
** The lady first introduced as Eric Bischoff's on-screen assistant, former WWE diva Brooke Adams, is named [[Film/{{Superman}} "Miss Tessmacher"]].
** Abyss' [[WeaponOfChoice Weapons of Choice]], Bob and Janice, are the names of Dixie Carter's parents.
* SomethingPerson: TNA has employed "Shark Boy" (previously best known for a WCW appearance) and revived the mythical [[FakeNationality "Japanese"]] character "Curry Man."
* SlobsVersusSnobs: How James Storm and Bobby Roode interacted when they first were paired up. Over time, they meshed very well and Beer Money was formed.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Ric Flair's group. Was it "Fortune" or "Fourtune?" Fans and reporters alternated between the two. For the stable's first few months, it was "Fourtune" in honor of Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen. However, since more and more people pointed out that the stable has ''six'' people in it (seven if including Flair) after including Morgan and Williams, it was switched to "Fortune."
* SpiritualSuccessor: TNA was conceived largely to fill the void of WCW, the difference being there was no initial effort to get television on the assumption no network would want another pro wrestling show after WCW failed. As it grew though, TNA became more and more like WCW, not just because of the large number of wrestlers who worked in WCW prior, not just because it got television, not just because the arena setups resembled ''Nitro'' and ''Thunder'' increasingly more as time went past and not just because of the many giant power stables trying a hostile takeover of the show that were a calling card of WCW. TNA also fostered relations with WCW's former partners New Japan and Triple A, and even started as an NWA member like WCW before breaking away, like WCW.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Jeff Jarrett from 2002-2006 (particularly his multiple runs as NWA World Heavyweight Champion); Kurt Angle from 2006-2009 (First winning all of TNA's male belts,[[note]]including the Tag Team Championship, ''solo'', and the X Division Championship, of which he never was part of, and that's without counting that he won an alternate version of New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP Heavyweight Championship that sprouted off from legal issues between NJPW and Wrestling/BrockLesnar[[/note]] then hijacking two different stables from Christian and Sting); Hulk Hogan from 2010-2013 (a non wrestler who gets to beat up the ones still capable of having matches while being in an authority figure role and central to a steady procession of angles).
* StealthPun: In the initialism of the promotion, though it wasn't much of a Stealth Pun in the early days of the promotion; the name was intended to make the company stand out as a more adult alternative to WWE, since TNA started out on pay-per-view with weekly shows. Even though only ''WWE [=SmackDown=]'' and ''[[BShow Velocity]]'' were PG at that point, ''[=SmackDown=]'' had not yet been {{screwed by the network}} and there was even a time it consistently got higher ratings than TV-14 ''Raw''.
* SuperTeam: The Prince Justice Brotherhood, three judges who mediate disputes to keep order in the Impact Zone, are a {{parody}} of superheroes.[[note]]There wasn't any wrestler named "Prince Justice" who was actually involved, [[MythologyGag it was just a reference to Abyss's old gimmick]][[/note]]
* TakeOverTheWorld: Well, the TNA world, anyway. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came in, influenced people, brought in some friends, worked Dixie Carter, and obtained control of the company.
* TakeThat:
** TNA loves doing these against WWE constantly. In fact, if you're a former WWE wrestler coming in to TNA, you're practically required via contract to take a potshot at WWE within your first month. (And Hulk Hogan seems to do one every chance he gets.)
** There's a reason why in many Knockout matches, if they perform succesfully, the fans chant "Better than the [[Characters/WWEDivas Divas]]".
** In May 2011, TNA began the process of rebranding itself as ''Impact Wrestling'' as a rather pointed TakeThat to WWE, which had just dropped all references to the word "wrestling" both on its TV shows and in its legal name. Included in the various commercials about the rebranding, are a few with Hulk Hogan talking about how this is [[{{Kayfabe}} real wrestling]], with [[ShockingSwerve real stories]] and [[BlatantLies no scripts]]. Ending with "We're here to wrestle, [[TemptingFate not entertain]]." Looking at some of the TV ratings, PPV buy-rates and IWC responses, he may in fact be right on that last aspect; it's just ''not'' entertaining any more.
** Newly-debuted [[{{Kayfabe}} investor]] [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]]'s promo on the February 6, 2014 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', talking about how ''pro wrestling as a whole'' is being ruined by ''too many owners'' running around thinking ''they'' can abuse talent and disrespect fans however ''they'' please, has all but cemented this status for the Heel!Dixie storyline, both as a TakeThat towards [=Vince McMahon=] and SelfDeprecation directed at Dixie herself.
** Drew Galloway's digs at the WWE on the March 7, 2015 episode centred around the InsistentTerminology they use. Mainly, 'superstars' instead of 'professional wrestlers', and 'sports entertainment' instead of 'professional wrestling'.
** Ethan Carter III himself practically reeks of this, particularly as SelfDeprecation, what with him being a parody of Dixie's own ridiculous penchant for nepotism.
* TakeThatAudience:
** Eric Bischoff introduced a new ranking system where the fans would have a major say in it, voting for who would be the top ten contenders for the TNA World Title. Despite the fact that AJ Styles, Abyss, The Pope, Sting, and Jeff Hardy were all being pushed hard, the fans voted for [[Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness Desmond Wolfe]] to be #1 contender. The very next week, he lost in five minutes to Rob Van Dam in a non-title match. Wolfe never sniffed world title contention after that and the rankings disappeared after a mere two weeks.
** When introducing the new four-sided ring to replace TNA's unique six-sided ring, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5QqVKWT-w&t=1m0s the crowd booed and started to chant "WE WANT SIX SIDES!"]] Hogan's response to the crowd?
--->'''Hogan:''' I got one thing to say about six sides: you had it, and it only got you so far. Now we're takin' ya all the way, Jack! No more eight sides, no more six sides, no more stinkin' playpen rings!
** There was Dixie Carter's quote about how TNA tries to appeal to the kind of fans like "that guy who collects the toys in the 40 Year Old Virgin." Of course, the "guy who collects the toys" is the [[ThisLoserIsYou titular character]] of the movie.
* ThrowingDownTheGauntlet: "Open Fight Night" is basically built around this, anyone can call out anyone and the challenged ''must'' fight.
* TookALevelInDumbass: Eric Young rather infamously went from spy movie supervillain-like leader of the World Elite PowerStable to comic relief with a gimmick of a mentally challenged person after taking a bump on his head in the finish of a match.
* UnknownRival: To WWE. TNA's relationship with WWE is fascinating to behold, swinging between snarky antagonism and utter reverence. TNA had its own in Pro Wrestling Syndicate, although it did eventually acknowledge the existence of PWS, perhaps because PWS was always somewhat playful about it.
* TheUnReveal: Velvet Sky removes the helmet of the mysterious biker chick who's been allied with Madison Rayne, only to find a mask underneath. (It has since been revealed that this woman is Tara.)
* VaguenessIsComing: The ominous warnings about "They" by Abyss in the early autumn of 2010. Subverted in early 2011, by Crimson. In his case, "They" were the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad accomplices]] [[ConspiracyRedemption turned]] [[BigDamnHeroes good guys]].
* WildSamoan: Averted by Samoa Joe. At least until he brought out a machete, wore some crazy pants, painted a tribal marking on his face that looked like a penis and started biting people. Thankfully, he's gotten far away from that, but it did a lot towards killing his push.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs
** TNA Wrestling president Dixie Carter, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn13PwaRQ6s gave a big speech]] to the wrestlers before an episode of iMPACT! in which she basically acknowledged the incredibly shitty decisions being made by the company, and rather than do anything about it, told the wrestlers to shut up or leave. Either they were behind her, or they could leave the company. And this was shown on air so all the fans could see it.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOwBJu5Hfzk The audience has been told they are "cast members"]] as a means to try and control the very [[CrowdChant chants]] that the crowd makes, allegedly due to wanting the show to be more fan-friendly and to help "tell a story" to the TV audience (and if they wanted to be more ''family''-friendly there ''were'' some chants most people wouldn't want their children hearing). It worked: TNA soon had to start hiring plants and piping in overloud crowd noise to the Impact Zone.
* WritingAroundTrademarks:
** Several wrestlers have had to use ring names that were close to their more famous ones in order to avoid WWE's lawyers from sending TNA into legal Hell (the most notable being Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley, who became Brother Ray and Brother Devon because of WWE owning several ECW trademarks); notable aversions include Christian Cage (he trademarked the name, so WWE couldn't stop him from using it) and Taz. Taz's case was due to the performer's WWE name being "Taz'''z'''", which they could trademark.
** Also, Rh'''i'''no. In WWE, he changed his name to Rh'''y'''no.
** The ECW faction was been dubbed "[=EV2.0=]"
** "MIIIIISSTERRRRR..... KEN-NE-- AND-ER-SON"... "AND-ER-SON."
** What exactly does the name "[[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]]" stand for in TNA?
* YouBastard:
** One Night with ODB. They took videos from [[LowestCommonDenominator various fans]] and actually aired them on National TV. What came out of it? We had the last appearance of Shark Boy until 2013, and the debut of Cody Deaner. TNA made sure to make its fans look like complete idiots in order to shoot an angle that went nowhere.
** They did the same thing for the Fans' Revenge matches, to the point where some of the videos were aired on an episode of World's Dumbest Fans.
[[/folder]]
----

* '''Impact World Champion:''' '''Johnny Impact''' since October 14, 2018

''Impact Wrestling'' moved to Pop (formerly TVGN) in 2016. This was the final television deal for TNA as we knew it, while [[Music/TheSmashingPumpkins Billy Corgan]] took over the role as president from previous owner Dixie Carter with the intent to rebrand the company entirely. In reality, the latter turned out to be a move by Carter and co. to give Corgan power on paper without ''actually'' giving him power and avoid selling him the company. As a result, Corgan ''sued his own company'', which would turn out to be the first in a long line of DisasterDominoes for TNA. While Corgan lost the case, this resulted in Carter selling majority ownership to Anthem Sports and Entertainment, a Canadian media company who owned Impact's Canadian broadcaster Fight Network. They formally announced ownership of the company on January 3, 2017. (Corgan eventually settled with Anthem, and would later [[http://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/wrestling/264371/billy-corgan-reportedly-buys-nwa-the-national-wrestling-alliance purchase the]] rights to the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance in May 2017.) Immediately, the TNA name was dropped for good; ''Impact Wrestling'' became the name of the company as well as the TV series.

The year is 2001. After the end of the Wrestling/MondayNightWars, there were no more companies that could compete with Wrestling/{{WWE}}, and from the ashes of the promotion's clean sweep of the territories, a new generation of independent wrestling promotions arose across the United States, in order to preserve many core aspects their predecessors once held. One of the most famous (or infamous, depends on who you talk to) of these promotions was NWA: Total Nonstop Action, an affiliate of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance founded by Wrestling/JeffJarrett in the aftermath of his fallout with WWE, and his father Jerry in June 2002.