Matt Hardy has some veteran advice for the TNA roster.
On a new episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, one-half of the legendary Hardy Boys shared his vision for TNA Wrestling’s upcoming run on AMC Networks, arguing that the promotion needs to focus on the storytelling aspect of wrestling instead of “five-star matches.”
“I want us to focus on story more than f*king five-star matches, because that’s f*king way too overdone now. I mean, in AEW, they can have all those,” Hardy said. “But like, the type of audience we’re looking for are people that are getting compelled by the storytelling in the characters. That is something I want to focus on. I’ll say that blatantly right out front.”
Hardy believes TNA will prioritize storylines over match quality once iMPACT lands on the network, adding that they don’t need to replicate what’s working for other companies.
“There’ll be good wrestling on it, but we’re not going to be obsessed over that,” he explained. “I think at the end of the day, pro wrestling is the most important things. Are moments… AEW, that’s their thing. They stand out. They have their wrestling like that. I don’t think that’s the direction we’re gonna go. We need to find our own identity and go in a different direction.” [H/T WrestlingNewsCo]
TNA Wrestling recently announced a new media rights deal with AMC. The company’s flagship show, iMPACT!, will begin airing on the network with a live broadcast on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
Carlos Silva responds to claims that TNA is now the number two wrestling promotion
During a new interview with Denise Salcedo, TNA President Carlos Silva chimed in on the discussion regarding the comparison between his promotion and Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling.
“We hear about it all the time and we talk about it all the time,” he said. “We’re competing with ourselves to be the best promotion we can be. Right now, there is a big, big number one, and that’s WWE. And TKO as their parent company — both WWE and the UFC — are number one in both of their categories. We’re very lucky to have a partnership with WWE and NXT, and we’re going to continue to make TNA great as a result of that.
“Whether all of the talk around, you know, are we bigger than AEW or is AEW bigger than us — it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you like TNA and you want to watch TNA. And by the way, if you like AEW, you should watch AEW. It’s okay. You’re allowed to watch all of the different shows and be a wrestling fan. It’s part of the competitive nature and it’s part of the wrestling sort of undercurrent that happens on social, but I think a lot of it is just a bunch of clickbait that’s just trying to get people to click.
“We’re going to keep trying to do the best we can. Everyone’s already seen the difference and they’re telling us that we’re doing better, and we’re going to grow, and now we’ve got AMC to do it in 2026.”
