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Like in any other industry, competition in professional wrestling is essential. It not only forces organisations to put on a better product but also gives the performers the flexibility of accepting better deals from wrestling companies.
Back in the 90’s during the Monday Night Wars, the professional wrestling industry witnessed its greatest period. The product put on by the companies was far superior to what we see now. While monopolising the industry makes good sense business, for the industry to thrive, it is of utmost importance to have multiple promotions compete against each other.
We’ve seen in the past that organisations aren’t shy when it comes to knocking their competition. From the ‘Billionaire Ted’ skits put on by WWE to WCW giving away the ending of Mankind-Rock encounter for the WWE title, the promotions have exhibited their ruthlessness when it comes to cementing their claim as the biggest wrestling promotion on the planet.
Today, Impact Wrestling is the number two promotion in North America, but that hasn’t stopped the promotion from taking shots at WWE. In this article, we take a look at five instances when TNA insulted WWE.
#5 Kazarian shoots on Nexus and the WWE Universe
Back in 2010, WWE shook the entire wrestling world when the Nexus faction took out two of the top WWE stars. Wade Barrett led seven other “rookies” from season one of NXT, as they ransacked the RAW set, while taking out John Cena and CM Punk. This led to Nexus becoming the hottest act in professional wrestling at that point, and people over at TNA weren’t too impressed.
Around the same time, Ric Flair paid homage to the Four Horseman stable, by forming the Fortune faction. To emphasise the group’s superiority, Kazarian cut a promo a couple of weeks later, stating that they weren’t “rookies”, but were respected veterans in the business.
To drive the point home, Kazarian then made fun of WWE, calling its fanbase the ‘WWE Universe’, by stating that they were the greatest faction in the TNA Galaxy!
#4 Mr. Anderson has a bone to pick with Triple H
There was a time when Mr. Kennedy was considered to be a future world champion. In fact, he was destined for great things, with Vince McMahon reportedly handpicking Mr. Kennedy to be his “bastard son”, not to mention him winning the Money in the Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 23. However, things did not go as planned, and Mr. Kennedy soon found himself out of a job.
TNA (now Impact Wrestling) didn’t waste any time in signing up the former WWE United States Champion. Performing under the ring name of Mr. Anderson, it didn’t take long for him to win the TNA World Heavyweight title.
Mr. Anderson then cut a scathing promo, accusing WWE of trying to sabotage his career. He then accused Triple H of getting inside Vince McMahon’s head and derailing his push.
#3 Rhyno refuses to be a part of a tarnished legacy
Rhyno was one of the top stars in the original ECW. So when WWE decided to revive and reboot the show, the ‘Man Beast’ wasn’t too happy. Rhyno was signed to TNA (as Rhino), and was given a microphone and air time to go after WWE and Vince McMahon. He then laid into WWE for trying to tarnish the legacy of the original ECW, and proceeded to throw the old ECW title into a trash can.
Rhyno then set the title on fire in the dumpster. The ‘War Machine’ laid down a challenge for any Superstar from WWE to fight him, before revealing that he was offered his job back in WWE, but he decided against it. Rhyno had some harsh words for his former boss and ended his tirade by saying that he wasn’t an actor, but a wrestler.
#2 Mr. McMahon and his love for “roosters”
When WWE decided to resuscitate DX with Triple H and Shawn Michaels over a decade ago, not everyone was thrilled with the act. While the fans were happy to see both the stars together once again, it was painfully obvious that they were too old to keep up the rebellious shtick.
One of the more memorable exchanges during this time took place between Triple H and Mr. McMahon, with Triple H tricking his father-in-law into admitting that he loved, well, for the lack of a better word - “roosters”.
While some of the fans thought it was funny, it didn’t go over too well with certain sections of the fanbase. TNA decided to join in on the act and knocked WWE for their over the top, childish antics. This included a skit where someone dressed as Mr. McMahon was seen walking backstage, with a rooster in its cage. When asked by Leticia Cline, the man professed his love for “roosters” before strutting away.
#1 VKM’s million dollar challenge
In 2006, Vince Russo returned to TNA, which meant that the company started filming controversial angles once again. One of the immediate results was the birth of Voodoo Kin Mafia (VKM for short) - a name inspired by the initials of Vince McMahon. BG James and Kip James (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn in WWE) declared war on WWE and Vince McMahon, and mocked Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
The duo claimed that they were the reason DX was successful, and a few weeks later, put forward the “Million dollar challenge”. BG James and Kip James challenged Triple H and Shawn Michaels to face them ‘anywhere, anytime’ in a shoot match, and said they would give $ 1 million to the winner.
WWE never acknowledged the challenge, and after multiple unsuccessful attempts, TNA dropped the angle.
