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Is Impact* the best wrestling promotion in history? *(Now TNA again, 2024)


Ricky Jackson

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1 hour ago, Migs said:

The Windsor shows, by the way, aren't on their website, so if they've been announced they are doing a pretty piss poor promotional job. They really need to step up that area of their game, the NY shows I think had pretty heavy paper to get a decent crowd (I knew a good number of people who were there for free, including in the front row), in part because you needed to be very on the ball to know the shows were happening.

You're right, they do a lousy job at keeping their website up to date.  I don't even know if they've announced those tapings yet on Twitter, either.  I actually heard about it on the radio, I was listening to a radio station from St. Catherines, Ontario and they were advertising it.  The tapings are at St. Clair College. Turns out the show is being promoted and hosted by Border City Wrestling and the show is heavily featured on the main page of their site, but logically you would think it would be listed on the Impact site as well.

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On 6/19/2019 at 11:49 PM, Migs said:

They run out of taped TV the Friday before Slammiversary. I guess they could do a clip show the week after Slammiversary, then tape six weeks of TV in those three shows you mention.

The Windsor shows, by the way, aren't on their website, so if they've been announced they are doing a pretty piss poor promotional job. They really need to step up that area of their game, the NY shows I think had pretty heavy paper to get a decent crowd (I knew a good number of people who were there for free, including in the front row), in part because you needed to be very on the ball to know the shows were happening.

Turns out I was right about the dates but wrong about the details. Jeremy Lambert of Fightful had some more news about Impact's upcoming schedule.  According to him, the Fallout event on July 14 is being held at a venue run by Santino Marella's gym but it's actually being co-promoted with Destiny Wrestling, an Independent outfit which usually operates in Sarnia, Ontario. Lambert reports that this will be a TV taping, but I'm not sure if they are also doing a Twitch exclusive event that night as well. Then after that, I guess they are doing the tapings with Border City Wrestling in Windsor.  So that should give them more than enough TV to take them into August. He is also claiming there will be a live Twitch special and a TV taping in California during the first weekend of August with dates and venues to be announced next week. To finish out the summer, Lambert is claiming Impact will also taping TV in Mexico again at some point in August.  So moving forward, it looks like they are pretty much co-promoting all of their TV tapings with other Independent organizations.

The last time they taped TV in Mexico, did they co-promote with a Lucha organization or did they run it themselves?

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I watched this past week's episode of Impact and one thing really stuck out to me.  Anthem need to pull their heads out of their butts and work things out with Killer Kross.  Seriously, if they really do let that guy walk, they're morons.  He is such a natural promo, he is head and shoulders above anybody else on that roster.  That promo he cut when he was basically water-boarding Sandman was gold.  He is so much more natural on the microphone than anybody else they have, plus he has a great look.  After already losing Eli Drake, Impact really need to do their best to hang on to this guy.  Anthem is not going to be able to rebuild their brand with Michael Freaking Elgin.

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Yeah, that'd be a shame if they let Killer Kross go. There's gonna be a ton of attention on him if he leaves. The best part right now is that he's no longer the muscle or the sidekick for anybody. As much as I liked the chemistry between he and Moose, Killer Kross is really a heel with which you can sink your teeth in many types of angles. I'm not necessarily crazy on the Crazy Eddie Edwards thing right now but I'd be damned if I didn't say that it's not working right now.

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Now that they've granted her release to Scarlett, it would come off like a dick move to not grant his to Kross, especially if they don't work things out as far as money goes. Yeah, totally agree it would be a big loss and he should totally be in the main event instead of Elgin, who has been predictably the same old self, only worse because his lack of promo skills or charisma mattered less in NJ. Honestly at this point, I'd rather have Kross get his release and join AEW along with Scarlett.

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11 hours ago, fakeplastictrees said:

I would love for Impact to sign 6 guys to long term contracts and really work to build the company around them. Hopefully Cross stays around for a bit.

If I had my way I'd pin down LAX, Tessa, Willie Mack, Sami Callihan, and Killer Kross (If they can reach some contract agreement)

 

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3 hours ago, Tenese Sarwieh said:

If I had my way I'd pin down LAX, Tessa, Willie Mack, Sami Callihan, and Killer Kross (If they can reach some contract agreement)

 

I'm with you on everybody (especially Willie Mack) except Callihan.  In my opinion, he's just okay at best.  He's fine for midcard feuds and the odd brawl.  His stuff with Edwards has been alright and I do think oVe are a great faction, but to me he is not the kind of guy you build a fed around. YMMV of course.

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10 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

I'm with you on everybody (especially Willie Mack) except Callihan.  In my opinion, he's just okay at best.  He's fine for midcard feuds and the odd brawl.  His stuff with Edwards has been alright and I do think oVe are a great faction, but to me he is not the kind of guy you build a fed around. YMMV of course.

A lot of my thoughts generally line up with yours, but I've enjoyed the hell out of Callihan in Impact.

Do you build a fed around him? Maybe not. But he already feels like a centerpiece focal point and a worthy featured piece of the puzzle.

His feuds have been mostly amazing, to be honest. The Penta program was a blast from beginning to end. It spanned across promotions. It had blood, brawls, swerves, sneak attacks, supporting players, stakes, masks, hair, you name it.

The feud with Eddie told a solid story and actually progressed as it went along. It evolved Eddie as a character and actually mattered. It wasn't just matches for the sake of matches, which is one of those things that bothers me most about modern wrestling.

And the program with Swann has been a revelatory experience. I really didn't expect Swann to step up as much as he has in a more serious, dramatic role. But he's totally run away with it. And the guy feels absolutely elevated as a direct result of this work with Callihan.

That many critical rivalries in such quick succession cannot be just happenstance or luck. Callihan is certainly bringing something to the table in these things.

The guy plays his part really well. If it's not your thing or simply not your taste, then that's fair enough. But I've dug his contributions to Impact in a big way.

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5 hours ago, SomethingSavage said:

The guy plays his part really well. If it's not your thing or simply not your taste, then that's fair enough. But I've dug his contributions to Impact in a big way.

Yeah, I freely admit that it might just be me when it comes to Sami Callihan.  There's something about Callihan I don't much care for, and I can't really even fully put my finger on what it is.  Maybe I just don't like his character and his promos and that is coloring my overall view of him. Maybe it's just that I don't like his stupid hairstyle and the fact that he wears a fucking flak jacket in the ring.  Like I said, just something about him irritates me for some reason.  Not to the degree that Seth Rollins irritates you, mind you. :lol:

I do agree with you that his role in Impact has been superior to what he did in MLW, in my humble opinion.  You have to assume that solely falls on the respective creative teams, and that D'Amore and Callis have a better idea how to use him.  Like I said, I do love oVe as a stable.  You're also right about the feud with Rich Swann.  That angle has brought out stuff in Swann that I didn't even suspect was there and made him a much more well rounded and serious character, and the feud with Callihan is pretty much solely responsible for that.

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See, I grew up in the Gulf Coast along the TX/LA border. And Callihan's look feels very true to life. I could personally name at least a dozen dudes just like him - the irritating, loudmouth, Natty Light drinking, pudgy white-trash tough guy wannabe types.

He's always itching for a fight, forever losing said fight, and still somehow convinces himself he's the biggest cock in the cage.

All while being deathly afraid that his cutoff sleeveless shirt might come off when he goes swimming in the river.

Amazing.

Now that's heat with me. It's like I know this guy.

Oh. And fuck Seth Rollins. Rational dislike. Irrational hatred. Whatever. Doesn't matter. The guy just plain fucking sucks. Plus he's all pigeon-toed and shit. Dude runs like a girl. For the love of God, someone give this guy an extra star so he can Falcon Arrow flip the fuck off.

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On 6/24/2019 at 10:20 PM, SomethingSavage said:

A lot of my thoughts generally line up with yours, but I've enjoyed the hell out of Callihan in Impact.

Do you build a fed around him? Maybe not. But he already feels like a centerpiece focal point and a worthy featured piece of the puzzle.

His feuds have been mostly amazing, to be honest. The Penta program was a blast from beginning to end. It spanned across promotions. It had blood, brawls, swerves, sneak attacks, supporting players, stakes, masks, hair, you name it.

The feud with Eddie told a solid story and actually progressed as it went along. It evolved Eddie as a character and actually mattered. It wasn't just matches for the sake of matches, which is one of those things that bothers me most about modern wrestling.

And the program with Swann has been a revelatory experience. I really didn't expect Swann to step up as much as he has in a more serious, dramatic role. But he's totally run away with it. And the guy feels absolutely elevated as a direct result of this work with Callihan.

That many critical rivalries in such quick succession cannot be just happenstance or luck. Callihan is certainly bringing something to the table in these things.

The guy plays his part really well. If it's not your thing or simply not your taste, then that's fair enough. But I've dug his contributions to Impact in a big way.

He also did solid work in his program with Cage getting him ready for his world title run. That right is his value to the promotion, getting guys Impact wants to push for the main event ready. He's in the same vien as CM Punk being an excellent feud wrestler.

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On 6/25/2019 at 4:02 AM, The Thread Killer said:

Yeah, I freely admit that it might just be me when it comes to Sami Callihan.   

 That angle has brought out stuff in Swann that I didn't even suspect was there and made him a much more well rounded and serious character, and the feud with Callihan is pretty much solely responsible for that.

It isn't just you. I can't stand Callihan. (I freely admit I haven't watched his Impact run though.)

As for Swann, does this make him more attractive to WWE for another run there? Better yet, would he even want to go back and be stuck in 205 purgatory again?

Or does his past as a domestic abuser, or whatever happened in that car with his wife, make him Kryptonite to major companies?

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11 minutes ago, C.S. said:

Or does his past as a domestic abuser, or whatever happened in that car with his wife, make him Kryptonite to major companies?

To me it's pretty unfair to label anyone on the basis of one incident (not saying you are doing the labelling though, it's just a broader remark). Hey, The Usos have several DUI and apparently WWE has no issue about that irresponsible stuff, so... But yeah, Swann going back in 205 Purgatory doesn't seem pretty appealing as a career move, he's becoming more of a big fish in small ponds (well, of course you gotta get paid too, and with iMPACT it's not always a given apparently)

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31 minutes ago, El-P said:

To me it's pretty unfair to label anyone on the basis of one incident (not saying you are doing the labelling though, it's just a broader remark). Hey, The Usos have several DUI and apparently WWE has no issue about that irresponsible stuff, so... But yeah, Swann going back in 205 Purgatory doesn't seem pretty appealing as a career move, he's becoming more of a big fish in small ponds (well, of course you gotta get paid too, and with iMPACT it's not always a given apparently)

I think The Usos should have been fired and belong in prison for attempted murder, but that's a whole other debate. 

Of course WWE is going to be hypocritical and turn a blind eye to certain people while bringing down the guillotine on others like Swann. That's unfortunately the way the world at large works. To be fair though, WWE supposedly does have a zero tolerance policy now when it comes to domestic disputes. Even when Kevin Nash had a domestic incident (with his son, I believe), he was immediately suspended pending an investigation - and that's Triple H's boy we're talking about.

As for Swann, I am not really sure what happened there. Keep in mind that there was apparently some incident with Drew and his wife years back, and no one is quick to label him. By all means we should take domestic incidents seriously - I would never want to excuse anything like that away - but I don't know enough about the Swann and Drew situations to offer an informed opinion, so all I can say is I hope the women involved are okay and not stuck in an abusive relationship (whatever happened with Drew and his girlfriend/wife, they're no longer together at least).

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Nothing demonstrates the complete inability from Elgin to show the slightest bit of character than his empty look and facial expression when Brian Cage slowly got up and threw the neckbrace away after being thrown through a table outside the ring. It's almost comical. Elgin has exactly one expression on his face, and he's just breathing heavy to show that he's intense. He looks constipated all the time, basically.

Apart from that, the show is still really good. Terrific angle/promo with Callihan & Tessa after a very good match against Fallah (I'll miss you Scarlett), crazy spotfest by LAX & Laredo Kid vs the Rascals.

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You're not wrong. The look he gave was if he'd just forgotten he needed to get milk from the shop on the way home. Which is unfortunate as I thought other than that it was a good closing angle with a damned impressive over the top rope table bump that was giving me Awesome/Tanaka vibes.

I've been a big fan of Impact ever since the new regime took over, as to me, their show is what a wrestling TV show should be - something that builds up the bigger shows and makes you want to see the matches on PPV. While if you looked at the Slammiversary card on paper you might think it looked OK at best, or not that inspiring, but if you've watched the TV and the build up you'd be very much into it, as most of the matches have been built really well. 

This week is a case of point - outside of the LAX/Laredo Kid vs The Rascals which was a really fun sprint, there weren't any other matches to write home about but the build up to matches was very effective. You never know what footing Impact is on in terms of people leaving (e.g. Kross/Scarlett) and the network they are on not even being able to air the show properly, but in terms of a TV wrestling product in 2019, I'm not sure too much out there that I enjoy more. 

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On 6/19/2019 at 8:40 PM, rovert said:

I know the talent was told "January 2020" on the new Network in a meeting about two months ago.

The new Network is really a state secret. I couldn't get details out of anyone. I assume Non Disclosure Agreements were signed and the upgrade in Network is real.

Fightful is reporting that the new TV deal is going to be with AXS.  I have to plead ignorance here, since I don't even think we get AXS in Canada. If we do, it must be a real specialty channel because I have a very comprehensive TV provider and they're not listed.  (Not that seeing Impact in Canada is a problem, since it's on The Fight Network.)  Question for those of you in the know...would Impact going to AXS be considered a step up, like a TV deal that would be considered respectable and good for them?  Better than Pursuit, at least?  Or would it be considered as bad as Pop TV or Destination America?

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2 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

Fightful is reporting that the new TV deal is going to be with AXS.  I have to plead ignorance here, since I don't even think we get AXS in Canada. If we do, it must be a real specialty channel because I have a very comprehensive TV provider and they're not listed.  (Not that seeing Impact in Canada is a problem, since it's on The Fight Network.)  Question for those of you in the know...would Impact going to AXS be considered a step up, like a TV deal that would be considered respectable and good for them?  Better than Pursuit, at least?  Or would it be considered as bad as Pop TV or Destination America?

It's certainly better than Pursuit. What makes AXS interesting is that it also runs New Japan and WOW, so I'm assuming it'd get well promoted, at least to the wrestling fans already watching the channel.

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With Slammiversary tonight, an interesting development that they switched the tag titles to The North on their show on Friday. Some speculation that LAX might not be long with the company which would obviously be a huge blow, although they probably did need to switch the titles onto someone soon as they were starting to look like a team that no one would buy into them losing.

The card looks very decent on paper - as I've said in an earlier post in the thread - one's that been built to really well to where the matches are much more appealing if you know the angles than if you are just looking at it in the cold light of day. In general Impact has been delivering on their PPVs so should be a good show.

There's also a fun little documentary on their Youtube channel about Tessa which I'd recommend if you have a spare 10 mins. She once again comes across really well. What with the Sami match and also some of the things she says in it about intergender wrestling (always a favourite discussion point for people...) it seems like she maybe being steered away from the Knockouts division into wrestling men more often but we will see. 

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Losing LAX would be a huge blow to iMPACT indeed and a big gain to whoever gets them (unless they get wasted, if you know what I mean...). It makes the match against the Rascals less important too. Maybe the idea is to get some buzz for their joint shows on Twitch, like the old "a title can switch on a house show" deal.

They really have done an excellent job building the card up and down again, with several matches I really look forward to (Swann vs Johnny, RVD vs Moose, Tessa vs Callihan, the four way Monsters Ball, Kross vs Edwards). With no angle or promo about the main event this week, I wonder if Cage really is cleared at all. Hopefully they don't put the title on Elgin, that would be a big mistake to have the guy with the charisma of a dead fish and the self-conscious work to build around the main feuds. TJP,  I'm pretty indifferent. Both the name and the look scream indy geek, despite his long career. I dunno why they jobbed Ace Austin, who's got potential and character, twice to this guy already, although their booking usually makes sense and leads somewhere. 

The Tessa little doc on Youtube was quite cool (she told most of these stories on the Jericho podcast). Her interest in doing intergender match pretty much closes the door on her going to AEW for now (that is, assuming she isn't locked with iMPACT anyway), hopefully the AXS deal makes iMPACT stronger because I need my little promotion who isn't afraid to go all freaky Lucha Underground style from time to time (as showed by the final angle on the show).

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  • Ricky Jackson changed the title to Is Impact* the best wrestling promotion in history? *(Now TNA again, 2024)

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