When NWA is on top of its game, delivering exciting, innovative, high-flying wrestling action the casual wrestling fan (WWE) has never seen before, NWA TNA looks absolutely stellar. When NWA is struggling, segments can be just brutal.
Make no mistake about it, this promotion has talent. With breakout stars like A.J. Styles, the S.A.T., and Lo Ki, and more established talent like Jeff Jarrett and Ken Shamrock, this product can certainly deliver in the wrestling department. For example, a recent 6-man tag match witnessed one SAT member perform a Boston crab on Shark Boy. Then, another SAT member threw Shark's partner, Slim Jay, face down onto the mat right under the Boston crab. The second SAT then proceeded to place his back against the upside down body of Shark Boy and execute a camel clutch on Slim Jay. Then, the third and final member of the SAT, the Amazing Red, finished the display off with a drop kick to Slim Jay's head. As convoluted as that may read, moves like these are truly sights to behold.
While a typical NWA superstar could make Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy look tame by comparison, the one area where the show could use some improvement is in production. Some of the backstage vignettes come off looking somewhat bush-league and lack the polish and efficiency of the WWE. Thankfully, these shortcomings do not detract significantly from the quality of the product.
Overall though, if you like professional wrestling for exciting in ring action, NWA is definitely the place to spend your Wednesday night. In my view, this is the place wrestling is going in the future, and I can't wait.
