For several years, WWE and AEW have widely been considered the largest professional wrestling promotions in the world. In 2026, though, Matt Hardy believes his home promotion of TNA Wrestling can close the gap and potentially slot itself within the same vicinity as them.

On a recent edition of “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy,” Matt elaborated upon his bold forecast for the new year. “My number three [prediction] is that TNA will push AEW for the perception of the number two wrestling company in 2026,” he said. “… I think this TNA new TV deal with AMC is going to totally help TNA ascend to the next level. It is going to put TNA back on the level of being a major promotion.

“Obviously, monetarily, we’re not going to be doing the same deal especially for media rights as AEW are currently, but it is going to look and feel like a big time promotion. As time ticks away, I think it is going to look bigger and bigger. We’re going to be back in the game where they’re going to talk about ‘Oh, the top three.’ It’s just like ‘Oh WWE, AEW, WWE, AEW.’ TNA is going to be in that conversation after this year, after six months or so.”

As it stands, TNA is just days away from debuting “Thursday Night iMPACT” on AMC as a part of a new multi-year media rights deal. Meanwhile, AEW is in the midst of a half-billion dollar agreement that will see its programming on platforms such as TBS, TNT, and HBO Max through 2027. In its case, WWE is currently under different broadcast deals for “WWE Raw,” “WWE NXT,” and “WWE SmackDown,” with additional partnerships coming in relation to music, merchandise, food brands, and even trucks.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.