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

[Drfunke]

I cant see past that Joe ROgan is striking the same pose as the statue at the head of the table...

[the_mole]

2 hours ago, Drfunke said:

I cant see past that Joe ROgan is striking the same pose as the statue at the head of the table...

That and the fact Billy has no arms during the whole thing.

I was bored and watched a few NWA videos and they really made the NWA belt and the match between Tim Storm (who I'd never seen) & Nick Aldis seem really important, despite the wrestlers being quite limited and the match not being that great. Him & Dave Lagana maybe should have taken over TNA.

Heard Meltzer saying EC3's contract is coming up in a few months and like James Storm he was on a big guaranteed contract that Anthem probably want to cut, if I was WWE he would be a great choice on both NXT & WWE, he has the look, the charisma & he's a pretty good wrestler. I remember seeing him & Drew McIntyre on I think Evolve and him basically bashing NXT, as he had to appear on the one nobody gave a fuck about after Smackdown doing weird stories, not the cooler Indy thing it has become.

Edited November 13, 2017 by the_mole

[BomberPat]

Yeah, those NWA videos are great - seeing people talk about Tim Storm as if he's a big deal on Twitter, and genuinely rooting for the guy, is amazing when I'd only previously seen him mocked as an old bloke with a vanity belt. Shows what good presentation can do for you.

Not sure if WWE will take EC3 back - I'm pretty sure they released him because he was injury-prone, and I'm not sure that's the sort of thing they'd change their minds about. Who knows, though, it's a different world to when he was last there. His "USA Guy" schtick that he apparently pitched to them always sounded great, and his skits with Daniel Bryan in NXT were legitimately some of my favourite comedy stuff WWE have ever done, but I think he suffered from being a funny guy who's sense of humour didn't match up to WWE's.

I'd like to see James Storm in WWE/NXT in some capacity - apparently last time around it was Billy Gunn that vouched for him and brought him in, and as soon as Billy was gone, Storm was out the door shortly after. It's a shame, because there's always room for a big cowboy bloke battering people.

[Carbomb]

Yeah, EC3's issue was that he'd taken too much damage. I'm guessing WWE felt he was too fragile for their schedule, whereas he's probably fine with TNA's.

James Storm's a funny one. There are times when I really get into his work, and others when I just find him a bit meh. Think it depends on the angle/feud/storyline he's doing at the time. His gimmick is fine, it's basically pre-JBL Bradshaw done better, and he's overall probably better on the mike too.

Where can I see these NWA videos? I'm intrigued.

[Ambulance Chaser]

Type in 10 pounds of gold on Youtube, it's a series of mini docs which if watched together are quite intriguing.

 

[Carbomb]

Ah, I see. Thanks!

[tiger_rick]

They've done a grand job with the videos which are great if you can stand to hear Billy Corgan talking - which I just about can. Some of the pics from the weekend are great too. This one particularly melts my heart. Everything about it says old school territorial wrestling. It's a shame that once they're in the ring, it all looks a bit like any other Indy but if they could find a way to get it on TV or on a major streaming platform with some bigger, well lit crowds, I think they could be on to something.

Edited November 14, 2017 by tiger_rick

[BomberPat]

Yeah, there's an opportunity for a new NWA to do something really special, and even though he's a bit of a knobber, Billy Corgan behind it gets it the kind of publicity that the NWA name hasn't had in years. Whether they attempt an updated variant of the territory system, or just (more likely) a standalone promotion, there's so many interesting directions they could take it in, but it's almost certainly just going to end up looking like every other company. I'd love to see an old school studio wrestling set-up for it.

[PunkStep]

3 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I'd like to see James Storm in WWE/NXT in some capacity - apparently last time around it was Billy Gunn that vouched for him and brought him in, and as soon as Billy was gone, Storm was out the door shortly after. It's a shame, because there's always room for a big cowboy bloke battering people.

Didn't he leave because TNA made him a decent offer? I might be wrong, but I thought that WWE made him an offer, but it was lower than the TNA contract.

On a similar note, is Gunner with WWE? I'm sure I read that he had signed and was working NXT live events. Wiki even mentions this. Always thought he was decent.

 

And I completely echo the love for Derek Bateman in NXT. I thought post-Nexus, him and Johnny Curtis/Fandango were in a different league compared to the rest of the NXT lot. Bateman had a lot going for him, which he has proved in TNA. Wasn't he AJ Lee's first on-screen love interest, or did I dream that?

[Statto]

3 hours ago, PunkStep said:

Didn't he leave because TNA made him a decent offer? I might be wrong, but I thought that WWE made him an offer, but it was lower than the TNA contract.

On a similar note, is Gunner with WWE? I'm sure I read that he had signed and was working NXT live events. Wiki even mentions this. Always thought he was decent.

The noise that has been coming from Storm as of late (preparing for the TNA contract expiry, obviously) was that it came down to a family decision - his wife wanted another child and therefore he didn't want to be away all the time, which was what WWE were indicating to him would be the case as they wanted him to be a part of making NXT a viable touring brand.

But yeah, I've definitely heard the "Billy was pretty much his only supporter in WWE" stuff too.

Gunner is indeed in NXT, working live events under his real name (Chad Lail). I wonder if they might consider sticking him & Storm back together as a tag team if something is worked out with Storm - they fit quite nicely together from a look/gimmick/style standpoint, IMO.

[Carbomb]

I loved Gunner & Kash (shame they didn't use that as the actual name of the team). They were like heavyweight/cruiserweight versions of each other, and worked together really well as a pair of nasty bastard arse-kickers.

[wrestleuk]

Enjoyed impact again this week happy there was no Alberto on the show and it flowed well without any pointless stuff it was the last part of the tapings I was at so looking forward to the next few weeks as I’ve managed to avoid spoilers 

the ATT stuff was really good again and the OVE/LAX six man was wild Eli continues to nail it with what he is given but I don’t think Williams has what it takes to be main eventing not even in Canada so hopefully it will be someone else going up against him soon 

All in all another solid impact nothing particular bad but nothing spectacularly great either 

[wrestleuk]

Sounds like the Next set of tapings will once again be in Canada in January I’ve just read on twitter there will be 3 nights of tapings in Cambridge Ontario at the Galt Arena Gardens 

[WyattSheepMask]

So is that in the arena? or in the garden? I reckon it'll draw about the same

James Storm has officially left and his contract was apparently between $150k-$200k a year. Absolutely ridiculous 

[garynysmon]

34 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

So is that in the arena? or in the garden? I reckon it'll draw about the same

James Storm has officially left and his contract was apparently between $150k-$200k a year. Absolutely ridiculous 

 

$3-4k a week for 5-6 weeks work a year.  Its no wonder they were late paying wages under Dixie Carter's reign.

Whatever you may think of Anthem, at least they're more realistic in a business sense. There's no chance a company of that size/stature should be paying so much.

People aren't wrong to say they're regressing, but fuck me, there's also pie in the sky thinking isn't there? If they can save a few bob in tax by filming in Canada, so be it.

Edited November 17, 2017 by garynysmon