Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[gadge]

The problem for me is the days of my investment in ROH as something I spend money on are long gone - I gave up collection and reviewing of the DVDs when Sinclair bought them out which is 5+ years ago now. The big iPPV shows are usually available if you know where to look but 3 hours of ROH in one go seems like a lot. 50 minutes on my iPad here and there is fine.

[Guest]

I followed both about the same level in the 00s and ROH is way more rewarding to follow today, it isn't close really 

In TV terms, ROH is a cozy watch. Hour long show, you don't really know who'll be featured on the show, much like NXT and then the really rewarding iPPVS which are semi regular. Plus Marty Scurll. 

TNA/Impact you have a 2 hour show, lacking direction or hot fans, see the same people on it each week and only put on a proper PPV/big card once in a blue moon. Plus Josh Mathews. 

[Psygnosis]

I've no time for ROH these days. Its basically TNA circa 2013 only more shittier. Taeler Hendrix and Lio Rush are the latest to go, Rush to Evolve, Taeler because she probably got tired of losing to Delirious' girlfriend. Plus they're losing talent more so than Impact as Adam Cole is off to NXT.

Impact is far more watchable and much better presented. They have the India tapings in May which should be a breath of fresh air. Only thing is they need a hot crowd and they're away again but I understand if the IZ is a crutch and they've got it good there because the last time they left was the beginning of the mess to come.

[Buzz Lightyear]

6 hours ago, Psygnosis said:

I've no time for ROH these days. Its basically TNA circa 2013 only more shittier. Taeler Hendrix and Lio Rush are the latest to go, Rush to Evolve, Taeler because she probably got tired of losing to Delirious' girlfriend. Plus they're losing talent more so than Impact as Adam Cole is off to NXT.

Impact is far more watchable and much better presented. They have the India tapings in May which should be a breath of fresh air. Only thing is they need a hot crowd and they're away again but I understand if the IZ is a crutch and they've got it good there because the last time they left was the beginning of the mess to come.

IZ won't change until they sort out the tapings schedule. Taping 4/5 shows over a weekend slows the product development down and kills the crowd.

Is there any point in changing whilst your PopTV though?

[Psygnosis]

8 hours ago, Buzz Lightyear said:

IZ won't change until they sort out the tapings schedule. Taping 4/5 shows over a weekend slows the product development down and kills the crowd.

Is there any point in changing whilst your PopTV though?

The first three episodes are fine but crowd tires. The taping schedule is April 20-23 with April 20th being live.

[Merzbow]

They have awful sound staff too, Konnan and Shane Helms were talking about it on a recent-ish podcast. Crowd noise is non-existent even when they're making some.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Merzbow

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Psygnosis said:

I've no time for ROH these days. Its basically TNA circa 2013 only more shittier. Taeler Hendrix and Lio Rush are the latest to go, Rush to Evolve, Taeler because she probably got tired of losing to Delirious' girlfriend. Plus they're losing talent more so than Impact as Adam Cole is off to NXT.

Impact is far more watchable and much better presented. They have the India tapings in May which should be a breath of fresh air. Only thing is they need a hot crowd and they're away again but I understand if the IZ is a crutch and they've got it good there because the last time they left was the beginning of the mess to come.

With Adam Cole its just a matter of time until he gets WWE success so that's nothing new. Hendrix, no big loss, for better or worse (I think to their detriment) women aren't really a key part of the ROH product. They do dark matches basically. Rush is a shame but it's a competitive scene. Delirious' booking can underwhelm, but they do a lot better job of showcasing unknown talent and they leave with a buzz that they didn't have when they went in. ROH does that for a good few guys a year, when did TNA last do that? Probably EC3, but even he was part of WWEs developmental. 

I didn't watch TNA in 2013, but if they had: a world title that was always a pretty big deal, a secondary title that was booked so well its almost at the level of the top belt, and a tag scene that stays persistently hot, then TNA had a pretty good thing going in 2013, cos they ain't got that now

I just feel like (well I don't feel, I know) that I could turn on Impact any given week, and even if they're not pretending they still do PPVs by calling some random episode Hard Justice, the fucking title could switch and I leave the episode just feeling blank, if Mathews hasn't bored me to sleep by then. That ROH title switches? Probably been in the works for months. Just a completely different ballgame when it comes to watching a wrestling company that knows what the fuck they are, and what their average fan would respond well to. TNA have not got the foggiest. Lashley to Edwards to Del Rio. Who is this for? They don't know. 

However many more fans TNA have made internationally due to getting on cheapo channels like Challenge, its night and day in terms of presentation for me. 

[Psygnosis]

6 hours ago, sj5522 said:

With Adam Cole its just a matter of time until he gets WWE success so that's nothing new. Hendrix, no big loss, for better or worse (I think to their detriment) women aren't really a key part of the ROH product. They do dark matches basically. Rush is a shame but it's a competitive scene. Delirious' booking can underwhelm, but they do a lot better job of showcasing unknown talent and they leave with a buzz that they didn't have when they went in. ROH does that for a good few guys a year, when did TNA last do that? Probably EC3, but even he was part of WWEs developmental. 

I didn't watch TNA in 2013, but if they had: a world title that was always a pretty big deal, a secondary title that was booked so well its almost at the level of the top belt, and a tag scene that stays persistently hot, then TNA had a pretty good thing going in 2013, cos they ain't got that now

I just feel like (well I don't feel, I know) that I could turn on Impact any given week, and even if they're not pretending they still do PPVs by calling some random episode Hard Justice, the fucking title could switch and I leave the episode just feeling blank, if Mathews hasn't bored me to sleep by then. That ROH title switches? Probably been in the works for months. Just a completely different ballgame when it comes to watching a wrestling company that knows what the fuck they are, and what their average fan would respond well to. TNA have not got the foggiest. Lashley to Edwards to Del Rio. Who is this for? They don't know. 

However many more fans TNA have made internationally due to getting on cheapo channels like Challenge, its night and day in terms of presentation for me. 

Challenge was actually a pretty decent get, they are now under the Channel 5 umbrella with Spike UK and have catch up stuff on the My5 app. It was fucking awful in 2013, Sabin winning the title for god sake. Del Rio's win was overturned so Lashley is still champion. Yeah the Hardys winning the titles was in the works for months sure.

Quite a few actually, they did good crowds at a number of arenas whilst on Challenge. I don't see ROH packing 9,000 at Wembley Arena any time soon.

[Buzz Lightyear]

6 hours ago, Psygnosis said:

Challenge was actually a pretty decent get, they are now under the Channel 5 umbrella with Spike UK and have catch up stuff on the My5 app. It was fucking awful in 2013, Sabin winning the title for god sake. Del Rio's win was overturned so Lashley is still champion. Yeah the Hardys winning the titles was in the works for months sure.

Quite a few actually, they did good crowds at a number of arenas whilst on Challenge. I don't see ROH packing 9,000 at Wembley Arena any time soon.

The good lead-ins certainly helped the ratings for the show on Challenge, be interesting to see what numbers they do on Spike (the best show gets around 200k) but it's a great deal for the company right now. 

As with the US, it's important they try and win some of the older fans back over. 

[Philjax]

I honestly find Impact my favorite watch each week. The 90 minutes flies by. It's gotten gradually better each week these tapings. I really don't get so excited about these average Smackdown episodes that people seem to blow out of proportion.

[Buzz Lightyear]

Solid episode of iMPACT. 

Finally a decent Knockouts match too. 

[tiger_rick]

I've only been watching through YouTube highlights but give them credit for the fact that Impact visually looks a million times better. The lighting and setup look like a wrestling show in 2017 should and it's very nice in HD.

Unfortunately, most of the male workers have absolutely nothing about them. They could be Olympic divers.

[Buzz Lightyear]

3 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

I've only been watching through YouTube highlights but give them credit for the fact that Impact visually looks a million times better. The lighting and setup look like a wrestling show in 2017 should and it's very nice in HD.

Unfortunately, most of the male workers have absolutely nothing about them. They could be Olympic divers.

Hoping that they'll be further improvement  to the arena at the next set of tapings, it still looks far too dark for me. 

Anyone a fan of Braxton Stutters work? Seen nothing so far as to why he got a job in the first place. 

 

[Psygnosis]

3 hours ago, Buzz Lightyear said:

Hoping that they'll be further improvement  to the arena at the next set of tapings, it still looks far too dark for me. 

Anyone a fan of Braxton Stutters work? Seen nothing so far as to why he got a job in the first place. 

 

Sutter's schtick is that he is the typical "TV wrestler" he was in a faction called "TV Ready" in CZW, he and Allie were heels and had the phrase "Sex, Weights and Protein Shakes". He's pretty much what you'd come across all the time but dude has personality and charisma.

Desmond Xavier has a deal with Impact now, and I am very excited for him as he is a big get.

[Ambulance Chaser]

What the fuck has that kongo kong come as. I thought he was one of the somoan family at first and would be related to Yoko in some way. Turns out his name is Steve Wilson😐