By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling on PopTV
Taped January 2018 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
[Hour One] Impact opened with now WWE employee Jeremy Borash standing with EC3, Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, KM, Tyrus, Moose, Rohit Raju (formerly Hakim Zane), Petey Williams, and Taiji Ishimori. Borash explained the rules of Feast of Fired with the men competing to pull down four briefcases. Three of those briefcases contain contracts for title shots, while the fourth contains a pink slip to signify that wrestler will be fired… The broadcast team was Josh Mathews and Sonjay Dutt…
Powell’s POV: Yes, it’s that time again for one of the silliest gimmick matches the company has ever created. I can see it being effective in terms of drawing viewers due to the curiosity of which wrestler will be fired, but the idea that a company would fire one of their wrestlers due to bad luck is pretty ridiculous when you really think about it.
1. Sami Callihan (w/Jake Crist, Dave Crist) vs. Fallah Bahh. Dutt said everyone was talking about the baseball bat spot with Callihan and Eddie Edwards. He expressed thanks that Edwards still had vision in his eye. Late in the match, Callihan threw a couple of running clotheslines that failed to knock Bahh off his feet. Bahh came back with a Samoan drop and went to the ropes, but Callihan cut him off. Callihan slid under Bahh and performed a Samoan Drop of his own and scored the pin…
Sami Callihan beat Fallah Bahh.
After the match, Callihan and OVE worked over Bahh. They placed a chair over Bahh and then Callihan teased hitting it with a baseball bat, but Eddie Edwards ran out and chased him off… The broadcast team hyped Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie as Rosemary was shown backstage heading into a commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Dutt labeled the finisher as a Death Valley Driver for what it’s worth. The match was fine and the fans are definitely connecting with Bahh as a babyface. The amazing thing about Edwards making the save is that this took place a day or two after the taping when Callihan struck him with the baseball bat.
Backstage, Matt Sydal said tonight is the night that he would reveal his “one true spirit guide”…
The broadcast team stood in the studio and spoke about all of the media coverage that Callihan hitting Edwards with the baseball bat received. Dutt was wearing a suit and noted that the attire of Mathews made it seem like it was Casual Thursday rather than Casual Friday. Mathews said he was trying to make Dutt feel more at home. They also spoke about Bobby Lashley and Brian Cage, and said they would have a sit-down interview with Austin Aries…
The Global Wrestling Network flashback moment of the week showed footage from a past Feast or Fired match. It was heavily edited and showed Hernandez, Curry Man (Christopher Daniels), Homicide, and Black Machismo (Jay Lethal) winning briefcases… A shot aired of a production crew member putting a mic on Austin Aries for his interview… [C]
Powell’s POV: Finally, a flashback match that felt like it was about more than just filling time. I’m still not sure how just including a GWN graphic in the corner briefly is really going to sell anyone on the company’s streaming service, but one thing at a time, I suppose. Meanwhile, the match showed two wasted characters with Christopher Daniels in the Curry Man costume and Jay Lethal doing a Randy Savage impersonation. Both were comical characters that had their moments, but both men should have been better utilized.
After Mathews hyped upcoming segments, McKenzie Mitchell conducted a sit-down interview with Aries. She plugged and showed his book about being a vegan, which he spoke about. Alberto El Patron walked onto the set and said he really needed to talk to Aries. Mitchell offered up her seat, which El Patron accepted. El Patron welcomed Aries to Impact Wrestling and said it’s his show. El Patron said he never lost the championship, but at least they have a real champion rather than a paper champion like Eli Drake was.
El Patron said he had a surprise for Aries, who said he loves surprises. El Patron called for a guy named Matt, who rolled in a tray with wine and a plate of food that included meat. El Patron offered him a bit of meat. Aries declined and pulled out a banana to eat instead. El Patron asked Aries if he was going to be rude and not eat the food he was offering him. El Patron ate the meat and Aries ate the banana. El Patron offered Aries a big hunk of fatty and nasty looking meat, but he declined.
El Patron grabbed the full slab of meat and brought it by Aries, who slapped it away. El Patron backed away and acted innocent while claiming he didn’t know “about the vegan stuff.” El Patron said he’d even buy one of Austin’s books. Aries gave him the copy that Mitchell was showing off and said he didn’t need El Patron’s money because he’s a champion now. “You remember what that is like?” he asked. El Patron took the book and left, then Aries poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip… [C]
Powell’s POV: Well, I never though I’d see a storyline based on a heel offering a vegan babyface a steak dinner. It actually worked since it was well established that El Patron was being a prick and Aries saw through it. I can’t say it makes me want to see them wrestle, but it’s still early in the build to their match.
Backstage, Kiera Hogan congratulated Allie for winning the Knockouts Championship. They hugged. Braxton Sutter showed up and wanted to talk with Allie, who said she just needed alone time. “What the hell, man?” Sutter asked after she walked away…
Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs headed to the ring for a promo. Jacobs admitted he likes to hear himself talk and said you can do a lot with words. However, he said he’s not opposed to taking action either. He said that until Joseph Park brings out Abyss then he hasn’t seen anything yet. Jacobs said he would use his words one more time and then called out Abyss. A group of fans shown on camera chanted for Abyss while it seemed like the other fans in the studio were quiet.
Father James Mitchell made his entrance. Mitchell introduced himself to Jacobs, who said he knew he was, but the fact that Mitchell waltzed into his ring with his monster behind says Mitchell doesn’t know who he is. Mitchell said he’s admired Jacobs from afar for years. Mitchell said Jacobs reminds him of himself and ran through their similarities. He said Jacobs is also a monster fan. He called Kong one of the most impressive beasts he’s seen in over a decade. Mitchell said he would be trying to steal Kong if he didn’t have a monster of his own.
Mitchell said he sold his soul for all intents and purposes and guided his son to the world heavyweight championship. He said they left a trail of broken bodies and destruction never seen before in Impact. Mitchell said the note eventually comes due and you have to pay the vig. Mitchell said he caused his son to commit acts of abject violence that causes his personality to splinter to cope with that he had done. Mitchell said he lost what was most important to him, his monster, his son. Mitchell said Jacobs would have to pay the piper too.
Mitchell said he watched for weeks as Jacobs abused Parks in an attempt to call out Abyss. Mitchell ran through some of the things that Jacobs had done. “You poked the wrong bear,” Mitchell said. Jacobs said he is the bear. Mitchell said he didn’t come out to humiliate Jacobs or to make him look bad. Rather, he was there to thank him. Mitchell said Jacobs awakened the sleeping giant and gave him back his weapon of mass destruction. Mitchell said Jacobs’ future could be summed up in two words: “Click, doomsday.”
Abyss made his entrance and traded punched with Kong while Jacobs and Mitchell watched from ringside. Abyss cleared Kong to ringside. Jacobs stood in front of Kong and smiled. Mitchell said he had a gesture of gratitude for the two of them. Mitchell said they were tickets to the Monster’s Ball next week… [C]
Powell’s POV: Mitchell is still a tremendous talker and it’s a shame Impact hasn’t used him more often over the years since I believe he still lives in Florida. He summed up the Abyss and Park personalities nicely and made this segment work. His looks has changed in that he now shaves his head and looks thinner than I remember, but he still maintains the devil vibe.
A video package aired on the Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie match…
[Hour Two] Ring entrances for the match took place…
2. Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie. Rosemary sent Valkyrie to ringside and then dove at her head first from the apron. Later, Valkyrie pulled the arms of Rosemary and arched her back as she was lying on the mat only to then stomp the back of her head. “Now that was a curb stomp,” Mathews said on commentary. Ugh. They fought to ringside. Valkyrie was about to return to the ring to beat the count, but Rosemary stopped her and both women were counted out. Rosemary and Valkyrie continued to brawl. Rosemary tossed her down on the entrance ramp and then they cut to match highlights and then went back to showing them continuing to fight. Valkyrie hit her Road to Valhalla finisher on Rosemary on the stage and then posed while kneeling over her…
Rosemary fought Taya Valkyrie to a double count-out.
Powell’s POV: You’d think Impact would have the common sense to take a cue from WWE and drop the Curb Stomp name. Anyway, Rosemary and Valkyrie work well together. The finish was logical in that it was too early to give a clean finish and thus this keeps the feud going.
An ad aired for the Impact Wrestling show at WrestleCon. For some reason, they still haven’t changed these ads to Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground…
Eli Drake was shown on a phone backstage. He was wondering where Chris Adonis was. Drake was disappointed by whatever he was told. He said Adonis shouldn’t be worried about getting fired because there was only a 25 percent chance of that happening (actually less since not everyone gets a briefcase). Drake said he would do it himself and then fired him and smashed the phone on the ground…
Powell’s POV: Adonis was at the tapings briefly, but apparently they didn’t film anything with him for his departure.
EC3 was interviewed by Mitchell backstage. He said he knew which briefcase he needed to grab and which case would be a catalyst for his future. He spoke about riches, fame, power, and glory. “A return to where I belong,” he said. “Champion.” He said he stands now and forever as EC3…
The broadcast team announced Austin Aries vs. Alberto El Patron for the Impact Wrestling Championship for the April 22 Redemption pay-per-view. They also hyped Allie vs. Sienna for the Knockouts Championship and Abyss vs. Kongo Kong in a Monster’s Ball match for next week. Dutt said James Mitchell would be in Abyss’s corner for the match…
Footage aired of Bobby Lashley approaching Brian Cage, who was eating in the bleachers prior to the show. Lashley said he didn’t need or want Cage’s help. Lashley told him if he wants to be in the ring with him then he should fight him. Cage stood up and eyed up Lashley before walking away without saying a word…
A shot aired of Matt Sydal backstage. He said he was feeling it and that everything “we” worked for led to this moment. “Tonight, we’re going to open up some third eyes,” Sydal said… [C]
An LAX video aired from their clubhouse. Konnan was playing dominos with Santana and Ortiz when Homicide showed up with a briefcase. Konnan shook the briefcase and said it was ten stacks too short. Homicide said he’d never screwed over Konnan, who said there’s always money missing when Homicide is around. Santana used the bickering as an excuse to break up the dominos game. Konnan called him a cheater. Konnan said the would watch the Feast or Fired match to see which jabronies they would have to defend their tag titles against…
Matt Sydal made his entrance wearing the X Division and Grand Championship title belts. Sydal thanked the fans for supporting him during his career. He said he wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for his spirit guide. Sydal said the fans were in for a treat and said may he open your third eye like he has mine. On commentary, Dutt wondered where Josh Mathews was going. Mathews made his entrance in the studio while Dutt questioned Mathews being a spirit guide. There was a small “fire Josh” chant.
Mathews said he’d tried to to enlighten viewers every week, but he’s learned that true enlightenment comes from within. He labeled him the north star of enlightenment. Dutt said Sydal is a double champion. Dutt said on commentary that he was looking at double douchebags. Mathews invited everyone to put their hands together and attempt to center their chi. A “delete” chant broke out. Mathews said Sydal sat under his learning tree and accomplished things that many thought were impossible.
Mathews said he had a gift for Sydal and presented him with a gift box. Sydal opened it and found a mask of his “spirit animal”. Sydal said Mathews taught him that we are all one. He said that if he’s a champion then so is Mathews. “You’re the new Grand Champion,” Sydal said before putting the title around his waist. Mathews thanked him and they ended up bowing. Mathews ended the segment by saying namaste…
Dutt said he could hear them in the truck and he had a job to do. He hyped Feast or Fired for after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: The fans chanting delete for the Sydal and Mathews segment isn’t heat, it’s the fans telling Impact that the segment was bad. And it was bad, though I do like the idea of Mathews transitioning from the broadcast booth and into a managerial role. I hope that’s the plan because I can’t handle another stretch of heel Mathews bickering with his broadcast partner at the expense of the matches in the ring.
3. Feast or Fired match. EC3, Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, KM, Tyrus, Moose, Rohit Raju, Petey Williams, and Taiji Ishimori were all in the ring coming out of the break. Eli Drake received a televised entrance. Dutt noted that the briefcases contain an Impact Wrestling Title shot, an X Division Title shot, an Impact Wrestling Tag Title shot, and a pink slip. Williams performed a Canadian Destroyer on Konley and pulled down briefcase number two. [C]
Moose rejoined the broadcast booth. With everyone down, EC3 went after briefcase number four. Rather than just grabbing one of the other briefcases, Moose inexplicably attacked EC3 from behind and prevented him from taking the briefcase. Moose pulled down briefcase number four. Maybe he’s a big Brett Favre fan.
Mathews didn’t want to answer questions about being a spiritual guide. Dutt asked him if he could call the show objectively as long as Dutt called him champ. Mathews said he would do his best. Dutt said they can be okay if they agree on that, but the first second that Mathews gets out of line then Dutt will ask the production truck to turn his headset off.
Tyrus worked over several wrestlers, including Drake. Tyrus went to grab a briefcase, but EC3 low blowed him. EC3 pulled down briefcase number three. EC3 struck Tyrus with the briefcase and then looked into the camera and shrugged his shoulders.
Drake performed Gravy Trains on three wrestlers. Lee was about to grab the last remaining case, but Drake caught him from behind and suplexed him off the ropes. Drake came up with a clunk of Drake’s hair on his back. Drake pulled down briefcase number one. The broadcast team said the briefcase reveals would take place next week. They also hyped a One Night Only event that debuts tomorrow…
Petey Williams, Moose, EC3, and Eli Drake won briefcases.
Powell’s POV: So they’re back to doing the tease of airing the shitty Feast or Fired match while saving the reveal for the following show. Lame. Yes, it’s a nice hook for next week, but this approach is sure to leave some viewers who tuned in this week feel cheated and that’s never a good way to make your audience feel. It’s always an odd match to watch in that the crowds tend to cheer for their favorites to get the briefcases even though the briefcase could lead to their favorite wrestler being fired. It will be interesting to see how this does in terms of viewership tomorrow while airing opposite the NCAA basketball tournament. John Moore will be by with his Impact Wrestling Hit List, and I’ll be by with a members’ exclusive audio review later today.
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Please, as if WWE hasn’t been lame for years, forcing wrestlers down our throat we don’t want to see and presenting ‘comedy’ sketches on par with Junior High talent night.
As for cheating fans out of seeing things promised, what’s the lead story line in WWE nowadays?
Impact is at least making an effort to draw in viewers, not driving them away en masse like WWE is with Roman Reigns.
I don’t play the WWE vs. Impact game. I call each show as I see it. And if you noticed, I was all over WWE for false advertising Lesnar and Rousey this week.
Good. The problem is, Impact is not equal to WWE as many fans believe. They’re fledgling at best during these times. WWE has more writers than Impact has employees. However hard you’ve been on WWE should be even harder given their tremendous resources. They’re clearly not trying nor caring about their audience. They’re glad to get the TV money from networks simply paying for any content they can find. The product in the ring is not close to being what it could be.
You have some influence on the people that follow your page, etc. I don’t have to tell you how ‘monkey see, monkey do’ wrestling fans mentalities are.
While TNA/Impact previous incarnations have done a lot to ruin their reputation, this is not the same company. Yet, fans don’t make/refuse to make that distinction. If there is any part of them that might be curious about what Impact is like now, it gets undone by an assault that really should be reserved for a company that SHOULD be doing much better. Thus, the curiosity is wiped out before it can be pursued. I’m not saying ignore the problems, just put them in perspective. They simply don’t have the resources Vince does.
I don’t know about you, but WWE bores me. Judging by their lackluster attendance at certain shows lately, I’m not alone. However, whenever people check out the wrestling news sites, you’d think everything was wonderful.
Where are the ‘thought’ articles about Impact or ROH or other companies? How many throwaway blurbs about WWE occupy this and similar sites?. For every piece about what Impact or ROH could do to improve their product, there are twenty about WWE nonsense. There’s no daily chatter regarding these companies. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of soliciting Impact wrestlers for interviews, articles on things Impact could be/should be/would be doing regarding their talent, production, etc and what they shouldn’t be doing in more detail, not just blurbs in the weekly show review.
To sum all this up, I understand covering WWE is largely where you make your money from, but to say you’re just calling shows as you see them is somewhat disingenuous given that the only attention you and other sites seem to pay Impact is when someone has left or wrestlers aren’t being paid.
Even this Impact review is a day late. What WWE show has ever been delayed from live coverage? None. It’s hit and miss with Impact on here.
It just seems that the times there are complaints on here about WWE’s failure to really make an effort, it should occur to you and other writers that maybe part of the reason WWE feels no need to actually put forth the effort other companies are is because the message being sent by the internet is that the competition isn’t even worth covering on a consistent basis.
Thanks for your reply. That’s a step in the right direction.
We had Impact live coverage for years. They moved the show to Thursdays, which doesn’t mesh with my schedule, and John, who typically covers the show, can’t see it until Friday morning. We had delayed coverage of NXT for a stretch and we also have delayed coverage of ROH TV and NJPW events.
Long story short, it’s not my job to generate interest in Impact or any other company. We review the shows via the standard TV review and the Hit List, and I do an audio review each week where I offer plenty of notes on what I think is being done right and what I would do differently.
If Impact does something that I consider newsworthy then it’s covered just like any other promotion. They run sporadic tapings so naturally there are gaps between their news stories. A lot of their shows with independent groups don’t get much coverage because they don’t do a great job of publicizing those events.
When it comes to staff blogs, admittedly there are members of the staff who don’t keep close tabs on the company because they either choose dedicate their time to other promotions or they simply don’t get Pop TV. There’s a ton of wrestling on there’s only so much time in a day.
If I were in Impact’s position and wanted more coverage, I would actually send out screeners to the wrestling media (not just this site) as they have done for some of us in the past. They don’t do that anymore and so those who don’t have Pop TV are left in the dark.
I have watched every episode of TNA/Impact going back to the pay-per-view days. I’ve covered the company as closely as anyone over the years. There’s only so much you can write about it in it’s current form with those marathon tapings. I sincerely hope they become more relevant and give us all more to write about.
You’re inherently generating interest in wrestling by simply having the website. On top of that, the writer comments sections at the bottom of show previews often reflect excited anticipation to events to take place on the show. So, in effect you do generate interest whether it’s your job or not and whether you realize it or not.
As for not having enough staff to cover shows on time or the staff you do have not having the willingness or ability to extend themselves beyond the low hanging fruit WWE offers, well, now you know what Impact is going through.
Should I hold your site to the same standard I hold ESPN or Sports Illustrated? Of course not and I don’t. Yet, the critique of other companies beyond WWE in show reviews would indicate everyone is on level ground.
I agree Impact is doing a terrible job promoting themselves. My pet peeve is the number of times Impact talents mention WWE or returning to WWE in interviews. There should be a PR rep instructing them to focus on Impact.
However, your revealing Impact does not offer screeners and your noting what you would do in their place is exactly the type of thing you could make an article about. Instead, it’s here in a comment section no one will see.
Stuff like that isn’t necessarily generating interest in Impact, it’s using your platform to help call attention to their shortcomings. You did plenty of it when Dixie was in charge.
This isn’t a personal attack against your site. All the major sites show a purposeful or accidental bias towards WWE. If you’re just here to report the news or critique shows, that’s fine. But as I’ve mentioned, you have some influence with the internet wrestling community. You have a powerful platform here. You’ve been on podcasts of major players in the business and you’re recognized as a go to site for the business.
It seems to me that since you expressed a sincere hope Impact grows and flourishes that you could use your platform as a way to help facilitate growth the way you do with opinion pieces on WWE.
I get it though. Impact is small time. Their reputation is nearly impossible to redeem. But, the current people in charge have claimed to want the opinion of the fans. They’re asking for help in steering the direction of the company.
Is it too far a leap to offer some of your thoughts about Impact more often? If you do it in your podcast, great! I don’t see it as often on the website. Clearly, you have some well thought out ideas about Impact. If your staff isn’t inclined or unable to follow a variety of companies, surely their must be people out there competent enough to pick up the slack. (This is not a job request, just a plea to see more motivated writers).
Again, thank you for your response. As I’ve said, this is not a personal attack on you or just your site. It’s a desire to see a new future carved out where it’s not all about WWE because WWE is the biggest fish and therefore, easiest to cover. That’s lazy and I believe at least this site could aspire to greater things!
Thanks for your time.
I do a ROH audio review every week within 12 hours of the show being made available in the UK and regularly discuss ROH in my weekly blog.
As for TNA/Impact, for years the show would be on a Thursday in the US and Sunday here in the UK by which point I’d pretty much know exactly what had happened. From a writers stand point everything has already been discussed.
I resent the implication that I’m not motivated or “have the ability to see beyond WWE” because I have no interest in a company which I feel is run badly. There is only so much time in the day and I’d prefer to watch ROH and UK Promotions over Impact Wrestling. That doesn’t mean I’m not motivated it means I’m not inspired or motivated by the Impact product and by default my opinion would be negative because of this and in a way that’s putting my coverage of Impact at an instant disadvantage, so I choose to not cover it instead focusing my attention on ROH.
To end this response in a positive manner I do think you have good points and are well made and I do certainly admire your clear passion for the Impact product.
You’re one of many here. You’ve just said you have no interest in covering Impact, which is totally fine. The problem becomes, who will cover Impact on a site about the pro wrestling business?
A point that might have been buried in the lengthy responses was not only did I feel Impact was being short changed, but ROH and other companies that weren’t WWE as well. Twice now, I’ve been told by writers of this site that the staff largely ignores Impact or has difficulty locating it. I’m sure that can also be applied to some degree to the various other companies out there as well.
This isn’t to say that Haydn Gleed is singularly responsible for the lack of Impact coverage on here. You’ve chosen ROH, which makes you the ROH writer. Nothing wrong with that. My problem was, is and seemingly will be that there really isn’t much written about Impact that doesn’t have to do with wrestlers jumping to WWE or delayed payoffs.
However, I have seen a lot of articles on this site that are not show reviews or news updates, but simply discussions about a certain company, usually WWE.
To say on hand that it isn’t someone’s job to generate interest in any one company, yet write opinion pieces on what WWE should and should not do while at the same time claim Impact doesn’t run very often and therefore has nothing to discuss is as dizzying as this sentence.
I get it. No one on this site likes Impact, or at least enough to extend much beyond the basics with them. Jason Powell discusses Impact issues from time on the podcast and I understand that. Everyone else has, as you admitted decided Impact just isn’t worthy of their time.
All that is fine, except then this becomes just another fanboy website for the staff’s favorite wrestlers and companies. That sort of goes against what I believed to be the intent of the site, which was to discuss all facets of professional wrestling, not just the preferences of the staff.
Either it is or it isn’t. In the end, the site is doing fine and I’m very much in the minority of people that would like to see more representation of things besides WWE. I’m free to go elsewhere if I’m not satisfied, but the problem is it’s like this everywhere.
To me, it doesn’t seem very difficult to simply locate someone interested enough in the product to be brought in so the rest of the staff doesn’t have to bother. It’s a small request that seems to have set off people. I regret that. This issue certainly isn’t important enough in the scale of things to have anyone feel attacked.
I’m simply in the position of speaking up for a company that doesn’t seem to have many voices advocating for it, including many that work for said company.
I appreciate your coverage of ROH and to those that cover New Japan as well. WWE simply doesn’t hold my interest, which is a growing problem for them. Discussing their issues sort of seems pointless, given they’ve made it clear they’ll just do what they want.
What is also sad is this entire thread is probably the most in depth discussion about Impact the site has seen in a long time.
I’m under no impression that anything I said will change anyone’s mind, nor should it really. I’m sure we all agree that the business would be a better place with a stronger, more stable Impact. However, they have earned the reputation they have now, which is why bother?
So to sum all this up, sorry for the ruffled feathers. You’re all good at what you do. I’d just like to see someone do Impact as well.
Thanks for your response.
I appreciate your comments and I would like to stress that my response was my opinion alone not other staff members.
I would like to stress also that John Moore does a great job of usually covering Impact and I know from personal experience having done many TNA podcasts with him in the past he has a massive knowledge and passion for the company.
I would also like to point out that I attended every UK taping when TNA visited these shores representing the website.
The reason that I don’t have motivation to write about Impact is there is simply no news to cover. The last time they had takings were 8 weeks ago and since then there has been nothing relevant to discuss aside from the tv show which Jason and John do an excellent job of covering so I fail to see what the point is of me trying to join in the discussion 5 days after the original airing of the show.
What I think you fail to appreciate is WWE provide between 7 to 10 hours of original content. impact only have 2 hours from a show that was recorded months ago so the news coverage is going to be leaning more towards current WWE issues because there’s more to dissect, write about and talk about. I do wish that I had more to discuss about Impact but outside the tv show there’s just simply nothing going on, I’m not sure exactly what should be covered outside what already is. I thoroughly enjoyed TNA for a number of years and again enjoyed TNA during the Corgan era but I don’t anymore. I’ve given my reasons in my blogs and I don’t feel there’s a need to repeat that in every blog without any news or happenings to update my opinion.
Trust me when I say that the staff are hugely knowledgeable of many different parts of the wrestling business and especially on the members side we offer a lot of commentary of different organisations in podcast form.
I would also like to make a clear distinction that I’m not offended in anyway by your comments or indeed angered, just trying to apese your doubts that we simply choose WWE as the only topic we cover. Yes it gets a lot of coverage because of the amount of content produced and is the company that the majority (certainly not all I agree) come to us for coverage for, but I also like to think we cater for everyone. If there’s news we cover it and it gets a discussion either in written or audio form, however just to reiterate this, it’s difficult to give daily or even weekly coverage outside of the tv show to a company that don’t have weekly takings or indeed more than a handful of PPVs a year. As someone who voted spud against EC3 as my match of the year in 2015 trust me I wish there was more to discuss.
I think the thing that keeps sticking with me is something that both you and Powell have done here, perhaps without your knowledge. Both of you, when ‘pushed’ for lack of a better term, expressed opinions on Impact that are as fresh as any other subject. While there may not be much in the way of angles to dissect, to me it’s akin to ESPN still writing about the Cleveland Browns even though they’ve been irrelevant for years. ESPN just flipped the script to solving the problems instead of covering the success.
The discussion at this time could morph from what Impact is actually doing in the ring to what is needed for them to get more eyes on the product. Somehow, it’s happening anyway, perhaps because fans have a certain belief in Callis/D’Amore that didn’t exist before. Ratings are doing better this year. I’d like to hear the staff’s thoughts on why that’s happening.
Keep in mind, I’m not asking for an Impact fan site. Sure, you can’t write everyday about the nuances and the behind the scenes doings. I do read John Moore’s work. Lack of knowledge about the product isn’t an issue at all. You’ve both proven today you’re very much aware of Impact and have very timely opinions about them.
Again, I think I’m saying there is an interested fan base out there that would like that recognizes the site has people that can intelligently discuss Impact with a deep historical recall and very definite thoughts on them. In my mind, I feel like there might be at least three article ideas from today’s back and forth in this message thread. Being negative about Impact is ok when it’s tempered with the idea that yeah, they probably won’t ever be WWE but still could cause some ripples in the ocean.
I don’t think I would have even bothered to mention any of this here today if I didn’t get the sense that the writers here on this site actually do have something to say about Impact beyond what has been written.
If nothing else, I’d certainly encourage John Moore by saying there is an audience, perhaps a silent one that would really like to absorb any thoughts about Impact.
Finally, this is also a failure by Impact to generate discussion. Callis and D’Amore made the rounds early on the interview circuit when they first took over, but really toned it down since. There just can’t be a lack of topics for them to discuss regarding the company they run. They need to be more proactive and create discussion, ‘shop talk’ if you will about their brand. You can’t really be blamed for lack of enthusiasm in discussing their company if they themselves can’t give you a reason.
Oh, this is cool. I’m kinda disappointed I didn’t get a chance to participate in this discussion. I stayed clear from Jason’s review over the weekend due to me being in LA at the Lucha Underground tapings where I even got to chat with a few of the top Impact Wrestling stars when they were around mingling with the press members. The reason I didn’t read the review before writing my hitlist is I try not to be influenced by other opinions before I get mine out there which helps for some good comparison pieces.
Anyway, It’s not like this site is not covering Impact with the most content we can. Since the beginning of 2017 til today, Impact has lessened their infrastructure. Simply put. I used to have an “End of the Year Awards” series of editorials a few years ago, but given the shaky state of the roster by the end of the last two years. I haven’t been able to do that article. We also do roster evaluations for the roster but right now the roster is barely a roster and it definitely won’t be the same after their “redemption” PPV due to the big departure and the many under-the-radar departures.
The overabundance in WWE material is not due to us being WWE-centric. It’s because they do have too many hours of pure content on their lineup.
If you have any ideas of articles or insight people would like to see, feel free to reply or shoot me an email at jmoore3.net@gmail.com. I’m not saying I’ll execute the idea but I’ll take it into consideration if it’s relevant or a cool adjunct to what we already put out there.
Anyways, I really appreciate you taking the intelligible discussion route. What’s the point of the having a discussion if it isn’t going to be civil?
So now fans are going to complain about a tv show hooking them in for next week? They are going to feel cheated? Out of what exactly ? They aren’t paying for damn thing. And this crap about Impact wrestling needing to have the common sense to drop the Curb Stomp name because the WWE did is ridiculous.
I agree. We saw this all through the 80’s. It’s called episodic television. There is a history with this gimmick. Fans know the revelation of who got what briefcase can come at a later time. You’d assume since that since the ratings for Impact have stayed within a certain range for years, the people watching the show know that. Any new ones can tune in next week to find out the cliffhanger Impact left it at.
If Impact offers a PPV promising something, of course they should follow through. Impact has been guilty of that before. In this case, it wasn’t PPV and nothing was promised.
Also, Impact should do nothing because WWE does. If they’re guilty of anything, it’s not assigning an Impact specific name for the move. They need to do a better job of branding everything they can.
The Curb stomp is a street name that’s pretty universal it’s not something the WWE came up with. It’s a act of street violence, but that doesn’t mean Impact wrestling should shy away from the name because the WWE did.
No, they should rename the move for the purpose of rebranding finisher names with Impact names. Impact needs to start creating their own identity. Part of the way to do that is to get people associating moves with the names Impact gave them.
Monster’s Ball, Ultimate X, Feast or Fired, Barbed Wire Maasacre, Lethal Lockdown.
Or the Gravy train, the Last Call, the Black Hole slam. So you’re telling me they need to ”start ” renaming moves to create their own identity?
Well… That might not be a bad idea. When you hear things like Monster’s Ball or Feast or Fired. I’ve even tested this out this past weekend by talking to indie wrestling fans about TNA in casual conversation, it tends to invoke an “ugh” or negative pavlovian response due to many fans feeling let down by this company’s screwy history.
In my opinion, the Global Force Wrestling change was positive in that it gave the viewers a fresh new name that they could champion. In an “only in TNA” type of coincidence, karma found a way to take that away, not their fault.
I just want to say that this is the most useful discussion of Impact/TNA that I’ve seen on this site in eons, once the excuse of not being able to find the show got pushed aside.