Whether they are known as Impact Wrestling or TNA, they have always been the scrappiest wrestling promotion in the United States. At no point, since it was founded in 2002 by Jeff Jarrett, has Impact been considered the number one wrestling promotion, but it has not been for a lack of trying or effort. Despite always having a talented roster, the company has struggled to find their footing on the path to success.

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Thankfully, their first big taste of success came in 2004 when the first televised episode of Impact aired for audiences to see. Prior to this, TNA had been running weekly pay-per-views but was now able to reach a much larger audience thanks to their television deal. While not every episode of Impact has been perfect since its debut, they were still able to move to the big time through this exposure.

10 Episode #9 - 07/30/2004

Jeff-Jarrett

One of the strongest aspects of Impact Wrestling has always been its X-Division, which has showcased some of the best and brightest wrestlers across the world. The amount of excitement that this division has brought to the company since their inception has helped define them, but they had a misstep during the ninth episode of Impact.

This episode featured very short matches, including less than ten minutes of X-Division matches, which are normally the most exciting part of the show. Combined with the fact that the main event X-Division tag team match ended in a disqualification, it made for a very lackluster show that should have been gaining more momentum by this point. This show may have featured the television debut of Jeff Hardy, but it is still highly forgetful.

9 Episode #6 - 07/09/2004

AJ Styles Vs Petey Williams

Multi-person matches can be a great way to break up a monotonous wrestling card. By featuring multiple wrestlers in matches, it can also serve to get more exposure for wrestlers to the audience and help build them up for the future. Unfortunately, these types of matches can also be done way too often that it diminishes their quality.

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The sixth episode of Impact did not feature any singles matches or a match with any stakes at all. All five of the matches featured on television were either tag team or multi-man matches, and none of them had anything on the line to make them special. TNA had a deep roster at the time of these episodes, but squeezing in this many wrestlers on the card did not accomplish anything for anyone.

8 Episode #7 - 07/16/2004

Monty-Brown-TNA

Despite having a very talented roster of up-and-coming performers in 2004, it was still possible for TNA to have lackluster television shows. With strong showings in both X-Division and tag team divisions, an episode of Impact can still drag on if there is nothing spectacular to note.

The seventh episode of the show did have heavy-hitters like Monty Brown, America's Most Wanted, and even Sabu, but there was nothing noteworthy about the show. At times, when the World Heavyweight Championship is not represented on the show at all, it can make things on the episode seem as though they hardly matter at all.

7 Episode #5 - 07/02/2004

America's Most Wanted

On the fifth episode of Impact, the company seemed to lean into their X-Division status and featured as many matches as they could. With three short X-Division matches, the pace of the show held together very well, and also included some international action while featuring Japanese wrestlers on the card.

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The show was dragged down a bit by some slow tag team action featuring America's Most Wanted and 3 Live Kru, who were featured very heavily in the earlier days of TNA. Unfortunately, despite being highly-decorated in the TNA history books, neither team is known for being exciting in the ring.

6 Episode #10 - 08/06/2004

Jeff Hardy TNA Debut

By the time Impact hit the tenth episode, they had started to establish of formula for how the show would run. With exciting homegrown stars like AJ Styles and Monty Brown holding down the fort, they were quickly gaining momentum in multiple divisions, and their shows were geared to send fans home happy.

The two most exciting parts of their tenth episode were a thrilling eight-man tag team match main event featuring multiple X-Division members in a great high-flying affair, and Jeff Hardy showing off his star power in a singles match. Episodes like this showed that TNA could shine when the focus was put on the event, but those moments were sometimes few and far between.

5 Episode #3 - 06/18/2004

Abyss TNA

A wrestling card is exciting when it has variety in it, which can sometimes be a mixture of long and short matches, as well as showcasing different styles. The third episode of Impact was able to do so, as it featured both squash matches and entertaining contests in multiple divisions.

One moment, the show would feature Abyss, a monster who would dismantle his opponents with power and strength, and then transition to the aerial assault of AJ Styles in a classic X-Division contest. Combine this with a very exciting six-man X-Division contest featuring diverse talent, and it is the recipe for a solid show.

4 Episode #8 - 07/23/2004

Team Canada

Despite there being several championships available to defend in TNA during 2004, the company did not feature many championship defenses on Impact. Thankfully, this means that a title defense would be special, but champions could still wrestle on the show in non-title matches. The eighth episode featured both the X-Division Champion AJ Styles and World Champion Jeff Jarrett in non-title action, but still in great matches.

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While both singles champions had strong showings, the highlight of the night was an exciting six-man tag team match featuring Team Canada against several members of the X-Division. With so much great talent in the ring at one time, the main event was exciting and a great way to feature what the X-Division had to offer for the company.

3 Episode #1 - 06/04/2004

Shark-Boy

The very first episode of Impact tried very hard to leave a lasting impression on the world of professional wrestling. With WWE running established wrestling shows, TNA had an uphill battle of making their show stand out. Thankfully, the talent worked very hard to leave an impact on the fans watching and would try to bring them in to continue watching.

This show not only featured strong X-Division talent and international competition, but it featured a rare championship change. The NWA World Tag Team Championship changed hands when America's Most Wanted defeated Dallas and Kid Kash for their fourth title reign. This helped establish Impact as an exciting show where anything could happen.

2 Episode #2 - 06/11/2004

AJ Styles in TNA

The second episode of Impact showcased many X-Division stars in tag team and singles action and included the first X-Division Championship defense on television. With AJ Styles as the newly crowned champion in his third reign, he showcased why he was the face of the X-Division for so many years during a hard-fought match with Kazarian.

The X-Division Championship match was great, and combined with an international six-man tag team match featuring Team Canada and Team Mexico, there were numerous action-packed moments in the matches, which entertained fans. The World Championship division of TNA was solid in 2004, but it could not hold a candle to what the X-Division had to offer.

1 Episode #4 - 06/25/2004

3 Live Kru

While Impact has now signed several former-WWE wrestlers to their roster, they used to be composed entirely of homegrown wrestlers. Fans would argue that TNA was at its finest when it featured almost all homegrown talent, and the fourth episode of Impact was almost exclusively without familiar WWE faces.

With two great X-Division matches featuring both homegrown talent and international stars, it continued to prove why it was the premier division for the company. Combine that with two great tag team matches featuring some of TNA's best talents, and it served to prove why Impact would continue to fight to be seen as a great promotion in the United States.