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

[El-P]

Anthem apparently asking some workers to take some pay-cuts, after the company was the most successful in years in term of attendance of big shows (doesn't mean *that* much either, really, let's not get carried away) and the higher-ups basically got Tessa back without informing a bunch of the TNA people is peak LOLTNA. This brand is so cursed. What a crazy-ass year.

Kushida's US stint really has been underwhelming as hell. At least he's still awesome when given the chance, as opposed to KENTA who basically ruined himself there. Still. His TNA time was probably a bit better than his NXT, but not that much. Bad timing. 

[Stiva]

TK should get Kushida into ROH when they get that TV spot, he’d be a fun veteran presence. As for Alexander, I can see him being AEW bound over NXT. He feels like someone that they’d give a strong push to based on him having really good AEW style matches 

[El-P]

11 minutes ago, Stiva said:

TK should get Kushida into ROH when they get that TV spot, he’d be a fun veteran presence. As for Alexander, I can see him being AEW bound over NXT. He feels like someone that they’d give a strong push to based on him having really good AEW style matches 

Kushida is full on NJPW again, although I dunno what it means when you're living in the US. I have zero faith in an actual ROH TV deal unless it actually happens (and gawwwd if it ever happens, make it a studio wrestling show completely separated from AEW and give it for someone else to book, current ROH is zero effort given), but yeah, he would be the kind of guy perfect as a veteran presence.

Ditto Josh Alexander actually, as I don't see him get that big-ass push in AEW. Then again, there's so much awesome matches for him to have there (Josh vs Joe... damn). AEW already got Speedball apparently, so I get to still watch at least one of the two TNA workhorses of the last few years.

[El-P]

And this is how TNA is gonna end up :

The funny part (because there is one) is people fired from NXT/WWE who are on TNA's roster talking about "are we back now ?"

Genesis is probably the best card they can present with their current roster (for better and worse). I would be very surprised if the "deal" ended well for TNA in the long run. Of course, monopoly simps are elated. 

I guess we are officially entering into the next phase of TNA, NXTNA. The last one ?

(and maybe it will be no different than what happened the last 6 months, NXT getting TNA's most over and talented people, and sending scraps to TNA, and when the novelty wears off they will just forget about it)

[El-P]

After arguably originating (or popularizing) the "This is awesome" chant, the TNA audience comes up with another unique one. A pretty sadly ironic one considering it happened one day before Trump coming back to power with his click of fascists billionaires. But hey, I guess the Tessa experiment went bad pretty fast.

Also, the two best matches involved two people who are leaving. I could not possibly give a flying fuck about Joe Hendry. I was tired of his act *before* he went viral. Him in 20 minutes main events on every big show is just a torturous thought. And then, there's the WWE relationship, where basically everything in TNA is about who is showing up in NXT next (see what I did ?). And when you don't want to hear about WWE nor watch any of it, well, it kinda ruins the entire deal. 

I will surely miss the days of IMPACT wrestling being this cool little small pond alternative with bizarre backstage angles and goofy fun stuff, and workers not so fit for the other bigger company finding a place there. 

[El-P]

And so TNA got Mustafa Ali. Who is awesome. And Mance Warner. Who is not. That's one + and one -.

But the hilarious news is that the biggest merch sellers at Genesis and the live IMPACT were Joe Hendry, Hardys and... Tessa Blanchard. Never change pro-wrestling fans... 🙄

 

[The Thread Killer]

I haven’t seen any TNA in ages, because here in Canada, they are on a station owned by Anthem Entertainment called The Fight Network. You have to pay extra for it and I’m sorry, I’m not paying to watch TNA. So as a result, I literally haven’t seen anything from them in so long I can’t even remember.

After WWE signed the Netflix deal, that meant that Sportsnet (which is one of the two main basic cable sports channels in Canada) lost all of their WWE programming. That was quite a hit for them because they had exclusive rights to Raw, Smackdown and NXT. Losing WWE left a massive hole in their schedule.

Apparently, AEW had been negotiating with Sportsnet, but for whatever reason Sportsnet decided not to make a deal with AEW and instead shocked everybody by making a deal with TNA. This was surprising for two reasons, firstly, because the whole reason Anthem bought TNA to begin with is because they wanted to basically make The Fight Network the Canadian home for TNA. As a result, TNA programming pretty much dominated that channel’s schedule. So I don’t know what them switching networks will mean for The Fight Network. Maybe Anthem will just pull the plug. The other reason it was weird, is because let’s be honest…a lot more people are going to be likely to watch AEW over TNA. I can only assume that Sportsnet made the deal because TNA was a whole hell of a lot cheaper than AEW.

Anyhow, the upshot is that TNA finally has a significant TV deal in Canada, they basically got all of WWE’s old times slots. So people tuning in to Sportsnet expecting to see WWE programming are now seeing TNA.

The other night I was bored so I actually watched a bit of Impact.

Let me ask a stupid question. Is it just me or is the ring in TNA significantly smaller than the ones they use in AEW and WWE?

[Autistic Dragon]

1 hour ago, The Thread Killer said:

I haven’t seen any TNA in ages, because here in Canada, they are on a station owned by Anthem Entertainment called The Fight Network. You have to pay extra for it and I’m sorry, I’m not paying to watch TNA. So as a result, I literally haven’t seen anything from them in so long I can’t even remember.

After WWE signed the Netflix deal, that meant that Sportsnet (which is one of the two main basic cable sports channels in Canada) lost all of their WWE programming. That was quite a hit for them because they had exclusive rights to Raw, Smackdown and NXT. Losing WWE left a massive hole in their schedule.

Apparently, AEW had been negotiating with Sportsnet, but for whatever reason Sportsnet decided not to make a deal with AEW and instead shocked everybody by making a deal with TNA. This was surprising for two reasons, firstly, because the whole reason Anthem bought TNA to begin with is because they wanted to basically make The Fight Network the Canadian home for TNA. As a result, TNA programming pretty much dominated that channel’s schedule. So I don’t know what them switching networks will mean for The Fight Network. Maybe Anthem will just pull the plug. The other reason it was weird, is because let’s be honest…a lot more people are going to be likely to watch AEW over TNA. I can only assume that Sportsnet made the deal because TNA was a whole hell of a lot cheaper than AEW.

Anyhow, the upshot is that TNA finally has a significant TV deal in Canada, they basically got all of WWE’s old times slots. So people tuning in to Sportsnet expecting to see WWE programming are now seeing TNA.

The other night I was bored so I actually watched a bit of Impact.

Let me ask a stupid question. Is it just me or is the ring in TNA significantly smaller than the ones they use in AEW and WWE?

From what I can find TNA's ring is 18x18 where WWE and AEW use 20x20. So it's smaller but I don't know about "significantly" so. 

[El-P]

That first live episode in 8 years surely was something. I can't remember less actual wrestling on IMPACT in eons. Dry talking segment after dry talking segment. With a overlong, dull-as-dirt main event marred with stupid (and repetitive, how many times is JBL gonna show up to lariat some dude without any kind of actual development to it, it's been 7 months now) booking. Countless "NXT this", "WWE that". 

TNA, dropped.

[The Thread Killer]

So apparently Anthem just cleaned house in TNA on the management side of things, and got rid of a bunch of people, including Gail Kim. They also announced that they have hired Hunter Johnson aka. Delirious as their new Head of Creative, which has to be viewed with some concern if you remember his time in the same position in ROH. Yikes.

[El-P]

Was about to post in the other thread, which is much more designated at this point. 

TNA is being gutted from the inside. All the people who actually contributed to redeem its image and make it a good place for people to get work, and actually built to the rebranding last year which had tons of hype, have been fired. 

Last episode I watched was the departure of Josh Alexander, which I thought was a good point to stop. They can talk as much as they want about bigger houses and shit, but the product itself has been the worse in forever in the last 8 months. The new audience is WWE fans wanting to see the Hardies do their nostalgia tour and play the hits. You can hear "Yeah" and "Yeet" and other stupid WWE chants during cold matches. They still get NXT scrubs while NXT is getting their biggest names. Joe Hendry was already annoying and dull for a long while now, but as a champ, the first week were downright appalling. I see they signed fucking Elijah and the Colons. The last big angle is Nick Nemeth and his idiotic brother turning on Matt Hardy. It's back to the old ways of basically being all about old WWE guys and rejects + now filling spots with underneath NXT people. They actually play into the IRL heat of Tessa Blanchard, which is certainly an idea. I have zero regret dropping them off my viewing routine.

Gail would probably be a good add to AEW's backstage environment. Considering her history with WWE and the fact she got axed while WWE is basically taking control (Dreamer is 100% WWE compatible), I would be shocked if she ended up anywhere close. Maybe D'Amore will hired her for his MLP project, since it's all about Canadians.

[The Thread Killer]

Reading more about these firings, it looks like they really took the proverbial broom to management…if I’m not mistaken they seem to have let go at least six people on the management level.

[The Thread Killer]

As I said in the WWE thread, WWE would be stupid not to try and hire Gail Kim at this point. Equally, if Tony Khan is smart, Gail Kim will also be getting a phone call from him. The problem is, if you believe what is reported and the rumors, AEW is a bit chaotic backstage, and TK tends to micromanage. Then again she would make a lot more money with AEW I bet, and up until recently it seemed impossible to get fired from that company. Whereas TKO seems to overwork their management level people and maybe not pay them what they deserve. I hope for her sake, Gail lands on her feet.

[El-P]

Female talents are *not happy*.

People who have signed a long term contract with TNA not too long ago must scratch their head about what's coming next. 

Ace Austin and Gia Miller should get the fuck away and show up in AEW. (yeah, that's just me throwing wishfull thinking, I now)

[The Thread Killer]

So has anybody else heard this news story going around that there was some sort of match between Sami Callahan and Mance Warner on Wrestlemania weekend that was so bloody that TNA has banned blading and blood altogether?

[El-P]

14 minutes ago, The Thread Killer said:

So has anybody else heard this news story going around that there was some sort of match between Sami Callahan and Mance Warner on Wrestlemania weekend that was so bloody that TNA has banned blading and blood altogether?

It's Eric Young and Steve Maclin, on the last set of tapings.

Every TNA news is just demonstrating that they are a bunch of bozos. They are being cucked so hard by WWE it's not even funny, and whatever I read from the news is just dreadful in term of content/talent (apart from Santana and Mustafa Ali, which I don't doubt is excellent in term of matches).

But yeah, Mance Warner just signed with them a few months back. Since the *only* thing he has going for him is bleeding a lot, though shit, guy. And I guess Sami is getting ready to concentrate fully on Revolver, which is always a cool little indie show with a chaotic vibe.

Also, apparently the Tessa Blanchard experiment is a catastrophy, with fans chanting random shit during her matches to express their disdain. Well, that and "She's a racist". Honestly we should be back posting in that *other* thread. 😂

All of this honestly kinda makes me want to go back and watch the trainwreck in motion... Kinda. 

[Johnny Sorrow]

That dog collar match was pretty great. Williams and Icurus were awesome as the bumping stooges. 

[El-P]

With Ace Austin not renewing with TNA, it's pretty interesting to look at how the roster is composed and has been evolving since the debut of what I call now "The TNA Cuck era". 

Basically you have the people WWE is interested in and will grab at the end of their contract : Jordynne Grace, Joe Hendry, and to a lesser extent guys like the Rascalz which probably could end up in NXT (well, back in NXT as far as Wentz goes). Heavyly featured in NXT to the point it's their entre character (which really sucks for the TNA product, the Jordynne Grace reign was a creative void and it seems she just beat people waiting for her contract to run out, then dropped the belt in meaningless matches to Masha, who in the meantime has been turned into a dull as hell English-speaking babyface).

More and more WWE rejects no one is really interested in, some of them being featured back on NXT for pops, like JDC (Fandango for those who wonder), lately Elijah (who seems to be pushed at the main event level, so yeah, we're back in full LOLTNA circa 2011). Nick Nemeth (now tag champ with his comedy-lawsuit writing brother), TAFKA Alicia Fox (yeah, no shit), and some very recent firing like Indi Hartwell (and I would guess more coming on this side). The Hardies fit the description, although for them TNA is the perfect fit at this point of their career.

People who WWE doesn't seem to care about, be it TNA veterans like Eddie Edwards or guys like, well, Ace Austin, or guys like Callihan or Mance Warner who just don't fit WWE's plans at all.

The question is basically who is WWE interested in next (would they get interested in Mike Santana eventually, or getting back Mustafa Ali, I would guess Leon Slater would be on their radar, the big ? about Tessa Blanchard), which basically would make them the next in line to get the "rub" (which is no actual rub at all, it's just WWE heating up the people they are gonna sign in the upcoming months). If the answer is "really no one", would they even bother apart from sending a bunch of third rate NXT (or hell, EVOLVE) names ?

Ace Austin was typically the guy fit for IMPACT during the D'Amore years. He was very clearly put on the back of the line to make place for WWE rejects and NXT projects. He's an excellent worker and only 28. Not an Alexander nor Speedball kinda guy, but I sure wouldn't mind see more of him after his TNA years. I would be very surprised to see him sign in NXT considering he never seemed under their radar at all. In AEW he's be lost in the shuffle unless he'd get a Kevin Knight start (he's actually a better worker overall), but he would fit right in in term of style.

[El-P]

TNA actually showing Joe Hendry being made to look like an geek at Mania and making a big deal out of it on their TV show is peak LOLTNA. The fact that the audience absolutely were elated about it really demonstrates how far the company has got in term of being The Cuck Era.

It's actually quite interesting to see how things are working and how the company is slowly being gutted from the inside. The NXT presence is basically part of the show now, I have no idea how much of it, but I'd say easily 1/4 of the spots and TV time is about NXT talent, a time and slots that could be about more TNA contracted people. Nothing screams more "Our roster is getting depleted" than Cody Deaner getting TV time (nothing against the guy, he's actually a decent performer). Big time talent leaving not being replaced (unless you consider Elijah a worthwhile replacement for Mike Bailey and Josh Alexander, although the funny thing is that he's actually Joe Hendry but much better in pretty much every way except for the fact he never got viral), the best and/or most over talent getting coopted by NXT making their TV time more and more about what they are doing in NXT (and the outside discourse being "they'll go to WWE at the end of their contract").

There are still really good stuff happening though, like the Ali/Santana and to a lesser extent Young/Maclin feuds. Heel brother Nemeths is actually much more entertaining than it looked like on paper. Leon Slater is awesome but he's a guy who will surely not stay there for too long in the current context (would love him in AEW). Masha is great in the ring, but they really have totally neutered her character by making her average English-speaking babyface champ instead of Russian psycho bitch, and she really had it rough with feuds with (ex)NXT talent like Cora Jade (who despite being a heel was getting cheered over babyface Masha, because the audience is cucking) or washed up WWE hasbeens like Victoria Crawford (Alicia Fox for those who wonder). And of course there was the Tessa feud, with the audience derailing it because, ya know, Tessa (who seemingly takes the "she's a racist" chant as heel heat, but then again, these strikes me as really performative by now).

At nearly one year of "partnership", the damage has been done. Oh, of course they are drawing better than they did *for now*, but between all the ridiculous restrictions (legit or not, at this point it almost reads like a running gag), the screaming lack of new top quality talent and more and more reliance on NXT contracted people and ex-WWE rejects, Hendry (whom I can't wait to see disappear into WWE ether, and BTW his booking once he got the title has been pretty much abysmal) and probably now Santana leaving as soon as their contract ends, no idea how the long term will look like. TNA's story keeps on being fascinating.

[El-P]

Finally watched that Maclin vs Young dog collar match. That Maclin bladejob was a crime scene in itself. Two weeks after the insane Callihan vs Warner deathmatch, you "almost" figure why they would want to cut back on blood. Then again, blood matches always were part of the TNA charm.

[El-P]

OMG they actually are running a feud between Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander around the fact Ali did not have his WrestleMania Moment tm, with promos about how great 205 Live was. The level of cucking going on in TNA right now is *insane*. It's both hilarious and sad as hell. Which I guess is fitting for TNA.

[El-P]

So there it is, AJ Styles is (most likely) showing up at Slammiversary. Which is super cool. They also are gonna do 5K probably (they already are lying about how it's their biggest attendance ever though). It's fascinating to witness TNA coming back to that "level" (under quotation because it's tricky, as the TV taping attendance show, you can see a shitload of empty seats), especially with such a mediocre product. The WWE parrnership coupled with banking on viral meme phenomenon Joe Hendry + Hardys finding the best place for them surely paid off in term of numbers.

The product itself ? Yuck. Dull, boring, un-compelling booking with a roster thiner and thiner in term of notable talent. It also exposes to me how much the NXT workers are overrated. Trick Wiliams is an entrance. I understand he's basically an overpushed rookie, but his work is not very good at all and I don't see that much great potential either. Jacy Jane ? She's basic (which is also probably a giveaway that Masha is winning, so that they only job an intermediary champ to the TNA person). The former NXT people getting signed like Léi Ying Lee (truly fucking bad) or Indi Hartwell (thus far, hasn't shown me much of anything on any level) are clogging up the cards alongside the return of the IInspiration, who seem to be as godawful as ever and don't bother doing anything above their old WWE gimmick, and, Victoria Crawford, who make the IInspiration look like Nastupoi & Saori Anou and whose only goal is apparently to be Tessa Blanchard's "black friend" so to kill off the "she's a racist" chants. Not to mention the next brand new signing in Enzo Amore, cutting shooty-shooty promo on AEW (talking about Forbidden Door and shit)... Oh, and they are actually running a Matt Cardona/Brian Myers reunion angle, which is as thrilling as it sounds... Again, TNA has morphed back into old TNA ironically.

Slammiversary on paper is not half bad with matches like Mustafa Ali vs Cedric Alexander (despite the abysmal angle which made it about a Mania pre-show match from 7 years ago) and Moose vs Leon Slater (the former RevPro 20 years old prodigy, who is really awesome), the 4 way ladder match team tag championship which could go from cool car crash to spectacular disaster if the last Hardy ladder match is an indication. The Santana's rise since the Mustafa Ali feud has been the best thing about the product, and he really comes off like a star now. He'll have to carry both loads on his back though and since it's NYC he should win the TNA championship. He surely made the right move at the right time. The thing is, he's already coopted by WWE (much like Masha), so whenever his contract ends (and it's sooner than later I believe), he's a goner like Hendry and Grace before he. Masha really would fit much better in AEW on pretty much every front, but TNA has been turned into a doorway to NXT, so there. The "interesting" part is when these people are gone, because they pretty much all comes from the IMPACT days (so is Leon Slater BTW, or the Rascalz who have been running in circles for a while now), and since the WWE partnership has been in effect, they have developed no one at all, relying strictly on what they have, older names/rejects from WWE and the NXT partnership.

[The Thread Killer]

6 hours ago, El-P said:

Slammiversary on paper is not half bad

I was thinking the same thing when I looked at the card last night. On paper, that looks like a show worth seeing. But I also have faith in TNA’s ability to screw that up somehow.

I think one of the main problems with the NXT/TNA relationship (aside from the obvious fact that it is not an equal partnership and is clearly designed to be to WWE’s advantage) is the shitty creative that has come along with it.

Let’s face it. Hunter “Delirious” Johnson is a terrible booker, and despite the fact that he may very well have been one of the all-time greats as a performer, NXT creative has sucked since Shawn Michaels took over. He might be a decent coach, but NXT has done nothing since Michaels has been in charge that would lead me to believe he is capable of booking a compelling product.

Doing an interpromotional storyline would be hard enough with a good creative in place, but with Johnson and Michaels, combined with TKO’s mission statement of screwing over every company they work with…yikes.

[El-P]

After watching the last few months, I can confirm Delirious is a shitty booker. With a few exceptions, everything is dull, boring, generic and/or cringe. The Joe Hendry title reign was *nothing*. They turned Masha Slamovich into "generic babyface N°234" as opposed to russian-speaking psycho-bitch, making her lose all her edge. And her title run has been pretty much terrible too, with matches against Léi Ying Lee (she dragged her useless ass to a watchable match) and *gasp* Victoria Crawford (I have no word). The Moose X-div title run has been, wait for it, *nothing*. Sure, Leon Slater winning the belt will be great, but they did jackshit with the idea of Moose being a heavyweight holding the belt. 

Whatever I see coming from NXT usually doesn't impress me very much, or at all. Lately, that Dark State shit is so fucking lame. I have no idea if any of these guys are any good, but it comes off like third-rate Contra. Yeah, from MLW fame. Ponder that for a second. They are on the card now too against the System & Matt Cardona, feel the fucking excitement.

The relationship has helped with the numbers, to the detriment of the actual product. The new president gives me huge carny vibes too. This will *not* end well.

(that being said, considering how the MLP stuff is going, not sure it would have been *that* much better with D'Amore, except for the fact lot of people that left probably would not have, including backstage people that were instrumental)

[WingedEagle]

I was offered a free seat in a box for Slammiversary and turned it down without nary a thought. As appealing as a couple beers and dirty water dogs might be, Joe Hendry & co. are not a good reason to get home super late on a Sunday night. Maybe a couple years ago but if turns out that anything was worth watching I'll catch it the next day.