Vince Russo claims he came up with the name TNA and reveals the original double meaning behind it.
Former WWE and WCW Head Writer Vince Russo recently spoke on Wrestling Epicenter to promote his new book, Total Nonstop Agony: The Rise and Fall of TNA Wrestling. He had also served as a creative writer for TNA during its inception in 2002, and he explained his original vision for the promotion.
Vince Russo claimed that he came up with the name TNA, but said it was supposed to be T&A. He wanted it to be the adult wrestling show, featuring foul language and nudity.
“I came up with the name TNA. That was my idea,” Russo said. “We were talking about being on Tuesday nights, but TNA was supposed to be T&A. It was supposed to be the adult wrestling show. We were supposed to have foul language. We were supposed to have nudity. We were supposed to have all the things that made it an adult wrestling show.”
He also mentioned that they had a ready-made cover story for the name, saying in case anyone objected, they wanted to claim it stood for “Tuesday Night Action.”
Vince Russo says the company held on to the name TNA for too long
Despite taking credit for the name, Vince Russo says the company should’ve changed TNA to Impact Wrestling once it shifted to a more mainstream presentation. He also called the company’s later decision to drop “Impact” and bring back TNA the wrong move, since the adult-oriented concept was long gone.
“Once they got on FS1, they should have changed the name to Impact Wrestling,” Russo said. “But that was beyond my power to decide.” [H/T SEScoops]
The book, set for release soon on ECW Press, is the third and final volume in the trilogy Vince Russo planned about his tenures in WWE, WCW, and TNA. He also revealed that he was interviewed for the upcoming Dark Side of the Ring documentary on Jeff Jarrett and TNA.
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