TNA Moves to AMC Along with WWE/NXT Crossover

04/12/2025 1h 7min
TNA Moves to AMC Along with WWE/NXT Crossover

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Episode Synopsis

​TNA Wrestling has secured a significant multi-year media rights agreement that will see its flagship weekly show, Thursday Night iMPACT!, move to AMC and AMC+ starting January 15, 2026. This monumental move represents a major strategic shift for TNA, aiming to capitalize on AMC Networks' reputation for catering to passionate, engaged fan bases and substantially increasing TNA's household reach. The two-hour broadcast will air live every Thursday from 9-11 p.m. ET, kicking off with a live event in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This new television home marks the latest chapter in TNA’s nomadic history, which began when Total Nonstop Action Wrestling was founded in 2002. Since its inception, TNA has relied on various networks for distribution. Its first national television exposure for TNA Impact! came in 2004 on Fox Sports Net (FSN), a deal that lasted about a year. After a brief period where the show was distributed online, TNA found its most stable and successful home on Spike TV (now Paramount Network), where it aired from 2005 until 2014, including its period of peak viewership. Following the departure from Spike, the program bounced across several networks, including Destination America (2015), Pop (2016-2019), and the Pursuit Channel (briefly in 2019) before settling at AXS TV (a network owned by parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment) until this newly announced move to AMC.​The move to AMC comes at a time when TNA is experiencing a surge in momentum, driven largely by its groundbreaking, multi-year partnership with WWE and its developmental brand, NXT, announced in 2025. This historic collaboration has seen TNA and NXT talent routinely cross between both promotions' programming and premium live events, with TNA stars like Nic Nemeth, Matt Cardona, Léi Yǐng Lee, and Leon Slater recently appearing on WWE/NXT shows, and vice versa. The partnership is framed by both companies as a way to create unprecedented crossover opportunities, provide additional exposure, and bolster in-ring development for both rosters. From a business and creative perspective, the alliance has been highly successful, driving up TNA's social media engagement, live event attendance, and brand visibility by leveraging WWE's massive platforms. The continued involvement of top TNA champions like Knockouts World Champion Léi Yǐng Lee and X Division Champion Leon Slater in NXT storylines highlights the deepening trust and collaborative nature between the two organizations.​Looking ahead, the partnership is expected to become even more aggressive and creatively intertwined as TNA gains significantly larger mainstream exposure on AMC. With TNA now on a higher-profile cable network, the stakes of the crossover storylines increase exponentially for both parties. The key analysis revolves around whether the current arrangement—which primarily involves NXT talent and titles—will escalate to include direct involvement with WWE's main roster titles (Raw and SmackDown championships). While the partnership has so far successfully avoided blurring the lines of WWE's primary brands, the success of TNA talent like Jordynne Grace appearing at the Women's Royal Rumble in the past suggests that high-profile, non-title appearances on WWE main roster programming are already on the table.However, it is less likely that WWE will immediately allow main roster championships (like the World Heavyweight Championship or Women's World Championship) to be directly weighed in or defended on Thursday Night iMPACT! The current model—focusing on NXT talent exchange and NXT title challenges—serves WWE by giving their developmental stars valuable exposure while lending credibility to TNA. Future involvement of TNA wrestlers is expected to continue to focus heavily on their association with NXT titles and talent, but the new AMC visibility could pressure the partnership to feature more compelling, main roster-adjacent storylines, potentially leading to TNA wrestlers appearing in non-title matches or high-stakes segments on Raw or SmackDown to promote the new AMC show.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wrestling-is-real-wrestling-podcast--1559158/support.Contact KOP for professional podcast production, imaging, and web design services at http://www.kingofpodcasts.comSupport KOP by subscribing to his YouTube channel and search for King Of PodcastsFollow KOP on X and TikTok @kingofpodcasts (F Meta!)Listen to KOP’s other programs, Podcasters Row… and the Wrestling is Real Wrestling Podcast and The Broadcasters Podcast.Buy KOP a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/kingofpodcastsDrop KOP a PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3TAB983ZQPNVLDrop KOP a Venmo https://account.venmo.com/u/kingofpodcastsDrop KOP a CashApp https://cash.app/$kingofallpodcasts