Dave Meltzer Speculates On How WWE And TNA's Partnership Could Hurt AEW

WWE hasn't been known for playing nice with other wrestling companies over the years, but that has all changed with the official partnership with TNA Wrestling. "WWE NXT" and TNA have traded talent since the summer of 2024, but the partnership was made official in the lead-up to TNA's Genesis pay-per-view on January 19. Speaking about the partnership on "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer was asked about what it could mean, and what he found interesting was this deal could prove a real problem for AEW from a perspective standpoint.

"I think where WWE comes in is... You can see that there are the podcasters that are anti-AEW podcasters and they're already trying to declare TNA as number two. So I think they want that thing to throw in, 'Hey. TNA's number two,' and if they can get the perception of TNA being number two out there. If that perception's out there, obviously it hurts AEW."

 Meltzer also explained that the WWE/TNA partnership can hurt AEW internationally, as TNA can use WWE's presence as a way to secure international TV deals ahead of AEW. What's more, some people could choose TNA over AEW as they will now see it as a path to WWE in the future.

TNA now has the unique distinction of being able to say that it's partnered with both WWE and AEW in recent years. The company's AEW partnership began in December 2020 and ran through the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing Kenny Omega become the then-Impact Wrestling World Champion at a time where former TNA President Scott D'Amore was amazed he could even wrestle given the extent of his physical condition at the time.

Please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Comments

Recommended