From the sale of WCW to WWE until the arrival of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, TNA was regularly regarded as WWE's biggest competition in the USA, for better or for worse. While the promotion raised the profile of wrestlers like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, and Mickie James. Despite a wealth of homegrown talent, TNA would often favor older ex-WWE and WCW stars over talent forcing them out of the company often to their
While the promotion has hit hard times recently, especially given the rise of AEW, it has produced some memorable moments in time. While the X-Division was a favorite of many TNA fans, there have been just as many in-ring and backstage promos that will live in the hearts and minds of wrestling fans.
9 "You Hate This Business Because You Never Had The Balls To Be A Wrestler" - Jeff Jarrett
For better or worse, Jeff Jarrett was the heart and soul of TNA for a long time. The promotion's co-founder, head booker, and 6-time World Champion, Jeff Jarrett cut a significant amount of promos. However, one of the best promos Jarrett cut was on one-time friend and former head writer Vince Russo.
In one of the first months in the history of the company, Jarrett stormed the ring to confront Russo, calling him a magazine writer and saying that he doesn't respect the business or the wrestlers in it. Jarrett claimed that he helped Russo at every step of his career in both WCW and WWE.
8 "I've Been Waiting 12 Long Years To Do This" - Christian Cage
In 2005, Christian Cage shocked the wrestling world by making the jump from WWE to TNA. Within five months of his arrival, Christian would defeat Jeff Jarrett at the Against All Odds pay-per-view to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The title win was Cage's first World Championship in professional wrestling, having always been booked as a tag team or mid-card wrestler in WWE.
A few days after his historic victory, Cage would cut a historic program talking about how he had been held down in his career. Christian would eventually return to WWE where he won the ECW Championship before winning the World Heavyweight Championship. The catalyst for these title wins was undoubtedly Cage's NWA World Heavyweight title reign in TNA.
7 "You Put a Million Dollar Company Out of Business" - AJ Styles
AJ Styles' promo skills haven't always been his strong suit. No one can doubt Styles when it comes to his in-ring technical ability. Styles has managed to have great matches across the world with a variety of different wrestlers, but it is often his inability to reach the level of charisma that will still set him apart from the Rocks, Austins, Hogans, and John Cenas of professional wrestling.
However, every once in a while, Styles has struck some gold on the microphone, which is usually a combination of shoot storylines and real-life anger mixed in. AJ Styles criticized Eric Bischoff for running a million-dollar company, referring to WCW, out of business, and accused Bischoff of trying to do the same thing in TNA.
6 "You Think This Is Some Kind Of Joke" - Mick Foley
In 2008, WWE legend Mick Foley joined TNA after over 10 years at WWE. Foley returned to the ring for the first time in a year at the Genesis 2009 pay-per-view. On an episode of Impact Wrestling, Mick Foley would interview himself under the idea that he was interviewing Cactus Jack.
Unfortunately, Foley was never able to capture the magic that made him one of the top stars in WWE, but the promo interviewing himself was a glimpse of the insane magic that managed to power Foley into Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love.
5 "The Closest You'll Get To Greatness" - Scott Steiner
In 2008, Scott Steiner returned from injury to join the Main Event Mafia stable of Kevin Nash, Sting, Kurt Angle, and Booker T. On return, Steiner cut an impassioned promo about the work that the group had individually done in professional wrestling. During the promo, Steiner called out TNA originals and even named Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.
Steiner would go on to say that the people in the audience and watching at home were turning on the tv to see the stars, not wrestlers that no one had heard of before. Steiner also delivers a classic line saying "The closest you'll get to greatness is being in the ring with us".
4 "They Just Gave Me a Live Mic on Pay-Per-View" - Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has always been a menace on the microphone. While more people got to see Joe's promo power in WWE, he undoubtedly got his start working for TNA and cutting some intense promos. One of Joe's most intense promos took place at 2007's Turning Point pay-per-view.
At the event, Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall were set to take on the team of Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, and Tyson Tomko. Unfortunately, Scott Hall no-showed the event leading to Samoa Joe cutting a savage promo on Hall and TNA, even daring TNA President Dixie Carter to fire him. Joe later apologized for the promo backstage, but it showed the fans that Joe had a real talent for cutting a promo.
3 "A Little Birdy Got In The Boss's Head" - Mr. Anderson
Before ending up in TNA, Mr. Anderson seemed like he had a rocket strapped to his back and was headed to the main event scene. At WrestleMania 23, he would win the Money in the Bank briefcase and paired with top-level talents such as John Cena and Randy Orton. However, he would eventually slip down the card before being released from his contract. So when Mr. Anderson arrived in TNA he was full of the proverbial piss and vinegar.
At the Genesis pay-per-view in 2011, Mr. Anderson defeated Jeff Hardy to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. After winning the title, Anderson cut a promo with a spot-on impersonation of Triple H. This would set the tone about how fans spoke about his departure from WWE and made him a bigger star in the process.
2 "Woooooooo" - Jay Lethal and Ric Flair
The promo between Jay Lethal and Ric Flair is so iconic that half the promo isn't even conducted using real words and the crowd still went crazy for it. During an episode of Impact, Jay Lethal would interrupt Ric Flair and Fortune mimicking Flair to his face. Lethal's imitation was so spot on that if you closed your eyes it was like Ric Flair was talking to himself. Lethal would also do Flair's trademark strut and even dropped an elbow on his jacket.
The promo led to Jay Lethal taking on Fortune members Desmond Wolfe, Kazarian, and Matt Morgan before facing Ric Flair at the Victory Road pay-per-view.
1 "The Numbers Don't Lie and They Spell Disaster" - Scott Steiner
Any time Scott Steiner has to deliver a promo, fans can always expect the unexpected. No one truly knows whether Steiner's stream of consciousness when near a microphone will be intelligible or completely wild. This lies at the heart of what makes Steiner popular with members of the audience. One of the most iconic Scott Steiner promos, and indeed TNA promos, is the infamous Steiner Maths promo that he cut in the lead-up to Sacrifice pay-per-view in 2008 ahead of a Triple Threat match with Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle.
At the pay-per-view, Kurt Angle would be replaced in the fight by Kaz, and Samoa Joe would successfully defend the title by pinning Steiner. Meaning that all of Steiner's mathematical prognostication was completely worthless.
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