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

[DavidB6937]

I know quite a few loyal Impact fans who just don't really give a shit about all of this. And I think I'd probably be on that side if I was a regular viewer.

It's a shame as there's definitely potential but I'm not quite sure it's working at the moment.

[garynysmon]

49 minutes ago, Supremo said:

When it started I remember the talk was about how lopsided it felt, with no-one really understanding what AEW had to gain compared to Impact. In retrospect though, it almost feels like Impact has got the shittier end of the deal.

AEW got to use Anderson and Gallows like they had planned from the very first episode of Dynamite. It also allowed them to bring in Callis as a full-time character, who’s complimented Omega’s act tremendously and proved himself to be one of the best promos going today.

Exactly this.

Since the initial angle there's been no doubt that Dynamite has been more of a 'must watch' show than Impact as stuff has actually happened on that. 

Whereas all we've had on the other side is six weeks of pre-taped segments involving Omega mainly sat in a bus and Tony Khan ripping the company to bits.

Now clearly what's hurting Impact the most is how it tapes its shows. I'm not knocking that in the basis that its the smallest wrestling company by far that's been taping all through the pandemic, so it makes sense to keep actual contact to a minimum and to tape as infrequently as possible.

That said, it isn't exactly conducive to a spontaneous weekly show in that inserting a few clips clearly taped seperately to the rest of the show isn't the same at all.

On the bright side, this weekend also sparks a brand new set of tapings so I'm expecting better things going forward.

I can still understand the benefits for Impact from this though. The company has been cast away on an island of its own while ROH and even the NWA buddy up with their bigger mates. 

If you're going to babyface yourself with any set of fans, then the smart move is AEW. Although their online presence can be annoying (like TNA's superfans definately are), they are loyal and will spend on the product. Even a small percentage buying this PPV guarantees a better buyrate than usual.

Its clear that getting rid of Josh Matthews from the booth was also a move to babyface the company. You only have to look at Twitter to see just how many people hate his work and claimed they refused to watch on that basis alone. 

So in a nutshell, from an Impact POV its been underwhelming so far but things have to ramp up from this set of tapings.

[tiger_rick]

The Two Tony's are the best bit of weekly wrestling. And you don't have to be arsed with either show to see it. 

[garynysmon]

Having just watched Dynamite, The Young Bucks are going to win the Impact tag titles at some point aren't they?

[DavidB6937]

25 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

Having just watched Dynamite, The Young Bucks are going to win the Impact tag titles at some point aren't they?

I'd love it if people were worried about Kenny and the Bucks etc booking themselves into all the titles in AEW, only for them to not only do exactly that but in Impact too.

[garynysmon]

Could have done without the Karate Man bollocks but otherwise an enjoyable show from top to bottom.

The modest piped in crowd noise wasn't ideal but way better than eerie silence and the commentary was an upgrade.

Main event was fantastic, Moose came across as a star and Rich Swann came out elevated if anything, even in defeat.

Kenny Omega's superb isn't he? (And that's someone 6 months ago I couldn't get what all the hype was about).

 

[Liam O'Rourke]

Didn't take long for Matt Striker to remind me how fucking terrible he is.

[garynysmon]

9 hours ago, Liam O'Rourke said:

Didn't take long for Matt Striker to remind me how fucking terrible he is.

Listening to Josh Matthews for seven years means my bar is pretty fucking low but last night sounded so refreshing.

 

As much as I like Ethan Page, I'm not sure what he's complaining about (if its legit).

https://wrestlingheadlines.com/ethan-page-unhappy-with-impacts-lazy-edits-to-his-hard-to-kill-cinematic-match-apologizes-to-fans/

"Last night sucked. I’m so embarrassed with how IMPACT! lazily edited that segment last night & forced it to be a joke."

Mate, you were fighting yourself in front of a series of outlandish backdrops. It filled a gap while they were setting up the barbed wire, was hardly going to be a 5* classic even if they played the whole thing.

Edited January 17, 2021 by garynysmon

[d-d-d-dAz]

Matt Cardona, or whatever his name is now, getting a Matt Striker special of ‘MARK OUT! THIS IS A MARK OUT MOMENT! I’M MARKING OUT’ did for me. Fucking shithouse.

[FLips]

Replacing Josh Matthews with an announcer arguably worse than him is quite a move. They'll get Mauro Ranallo in next and complete the trifecta.

[The Gaffer]

Decent show. I really wish they'd get even a dozen people banging on plexiglass, though. It's bananas how my opinion has fluctuated on stuff like this in the last year, oscillating between not wanting to be reminded of living in a dystopia by watching empty arenas and actually craving the scheduled normality of it as a release. A handful of plants now amounts to a passable atmosphere, and I wish they'd do it. 

No major problem with Striker, here. He's daft at times, but I appreciate how he does seem to throw his backside into it. It was far more authoritative commentary than Josh Matthews. 

[Supremo]

Does anyone know the legalities of wearing a Bullet Club shirt on your show if there’s no agreement in place with New Japan?

[garynysmon]

5 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Does anyone know the legalities of wearing a Bullet Club shirt on your show if there’s no agreement in place with New Japan?

I'm convinced there is some sort of agreement tbh. It would have been daft for Impact and AEW talent to implicate themselves in a copyright dispute and I doubt it would have been signed off without some kind of permission in place. 

Chris Bey took part in New Japan's recent tournament (as did TJP but he's freelance). No way would the former have happened without a thawing of relations to some degree at least.

Edited January 18, 2021 by garynysmon

[BomberPat]

Given that Don Callis worked for NJPW before taking over Impact, I imagine he's managed to work something out with them, or at least chip away at the "Gedo hates TNA" attitude that prevented them working together for years.

On the other hand, it's "just" a T-shirt. It's basically free publicity for NJPW, and it's not I don't know what the legal grounds would be to stop Omega wearing it, if they cared to. Chris Jericho wore his "Alpha Club" shirt from NJPW on an episode of RAW, if I remember correctly. It feels like something that would be a matter of internal standards and practices rather than any kind of legal question.

[WeeAl]

It seems like a no lose situation to me for NJPW. If their t-shirt is seen on two different TV shows, independent of their own product, yet you can only purchase it by going through their distributors, then I don't see how they would have a problem. It's a different story if somebody tears the shirt off and takes a leak on it in the middle of the ring, but I don't see that being high on the list of things to be worried about.