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

[Jazzy G]

They're building him up until somebody comes along to dethrone him, be it Adam Page or somebody else. Presumably once he loses the AEW title he'll do the rounds dropping the other titles as well. I don't know whether it'd be to Swann or somebody else though. 

[DavidB6937]

Just now, jazzygeofferz said:

They're building him up until somebody comes along to dethrone him, be it Adam Page or somebody else. Presumably once he loses the AEW title he'll do the rounds dropping the other titles as well. I don't know whether it'd be to Swann or somebody else though. 

Just not sure what Impact are getting out of it really at this point.

[Jazzy G]

1 minute ago, DavidB6937 said:

Just not sure what Impact are getting out of it really at this point.

Money would be my guess. All going straight into Samoa Joe's pocket for his return in July hopefully. 

[RedRooster]

45 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

As much as I want to get excited about the Omega stuff, they kinda lost me along the way somewhere. I'm just not sure what the end goal is really. In fact most of the enjoyable Impact stuff recently (and on this show) has been their own talent rather than any intrigue about the cross-over.

I wonder if TNT asked them not to promote other networks on Dynamite or something? AEW had initially hinted at a belt collector gimmick for Omega, but they've not referenced that on TV for a while. They've not even mentioned the title match. They may have still felt some level of obligation towards Impact, and that's why we've seen Omega/Swann and Private Party making an Impact appearance. 

Alternatively, it may be something as simple as a favour to Callis through Omega and Jericho that Khan was happy to green light, and was never supposed to be anything more than that.

[Statto]

They did basically this exact same video this time last year, IIRC. If they've got footage of recent WWE releases who used to be in TNA, use that. If not, use flags to tease - was a Bulgarian flag last year for Rusev, this year there is an Aussie flag in there for the IIconics etc. Obviously this time around they've chucked the Japanese lads in there too.

I like it.

[Hoptimus]

My whole take on TK not promoting this is his attempt to be TK on screen TV character away from AEW. He can be dickhead rival promoter away from shitting in his own house by allowing him to live out his TV character role dreams in another universe. Heat against Impact fans by not promoting on his show as if Impact means lesser in the eyes of AEW promoter TK.

[Jazzy G]

It's a good idea, I do have a feeling it'd be more a TNT thing than an AEW thing. Do they mention the Impact stuff on Dark or Elevation?

[CavemanLynn]

I think, after the initial fun of the early Two Tonies skits and the surprise of those first 'crossover' matches, that the feud should never have been pitched as AEW vs Impact, but Omega/Bullet Club vs The World. The problem with invasions is that, at some point, one side has to lose. This might work in internal scuffles, like the WWE/Alliance invasion could have as that was essentially an inter-McMahon angle, but between two or more companies with their own goals and business plans to look after, you end up in a Hogan vs HBK standoff. AEW acting the heels on Impact implies that Omega's actions get their approval, when the angle should be Omega, or more likely Callis, upending the wrestling world for his own ends. At least then you'd have a unified front building up as the Bullet Club ran roughshod, belt collecting in the US, Mexico and Japan, leading, at least potentially, to a multi-promotion multiman where the belts end up back where they belong.

Edited April 26, 2021 by CavemanLynn

[Supremo]

It’s never a good sign when the first thought I had when reading Kenny had won is what convoluted, awkward way they’re going to eventually get the belt off him. The whole working relationship seems to exist solely for Kenny to pose for a photograph holding a lot of belts. No-one else benefits. Impact look like losers getting constantly slagged off on their own show and AEW has the Good Brothers. Waste of everyone’s time.

EDIT: I’ve now seen the match. It was good, they definitely made it feel big time, and I thought their use of canned crowd noise pissed all over WWE’s. Honestly though - I nearly fell off my chair when they announced it was title for title. I watch Dynamite every week and follow the news quite closely and yet I had absolutely no idea the AEW belt was also on the line. Speaks volumes for how fucked over Impact have been here. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if they don’t even feature the belts this Wednesday.

Fucking Mauro, too. He was almost bearable until after the finish, at which point he started rattling off all the shit lines he’d prepared.

”You can’t spell Omega without O, M, G. And Matt, Oh My God, what did we just see?!”

Back to boxing and MMA, please.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Supremo

[BomberPat]

I had no problem with Mauro on commentary, to be honest. He mostly just did straight play-by-play and told the story of the match well, which was more than could be said for Matt Striker, who was dogshit bad by his own standards for the entire show. Even that daft line you quoted at least came at the end, so didn't affect the flow of the match, whereas Matt Striker managed to miss several spots throughout the show, or just call big high spots as if they were mundane everyday occurrences, if and when he could be bothered to stop making rambling Bible analogies, right wing dog-whistles, or just stuff that feels like it came from a "profound statement bullshit generator".

At one point he said that it was surprising Rachel Ellering went to Japan rather than staying in Minnesota, because Minnesota has such a thriving wrestling scene, and then listed names like Verne Gagne, Billy Robinson and other old AWA folks, because apparently Rachel should have made her decision about where to wrestle based on people who retired before she was born, and many of whom died before she debuted. You know who he didn't think to mention? To put over why Rachel Ellering might have an advantage in a tag team match? The Road Warriors, or Paul Ellering.

I agree that the core of the story is Don Callis & Kenny Omega's masterplan, and I love that story. I think the Tony Khan paid ads aspect of it all has muddied the waters and added an AEW vs. Impact element that simply isn't there in the stories they're telling. 

[Jazzy G]

The sad thing is that Striker is a lot better now than he has been in the past. 

[garynysmon]

Fair play, this made me laugh.

[PowerButchi]

On 4/11/2021 at 5:29 PM, BomberPat said:

.

Su Yung showing up was a best moment of the year candidate for me - they just pulled it off perfectly, so much so that I had to watch it back to see exactly how they did it, the continuity work was great. Compare that to half the stuff with The Fiend, or other WWE obvious pre-tapes where they rely on impossible camera angles and really jarring cuts, and it's night and day. 

Sorry to drag up an old post, but they also did it on an impact months ago when Su Yung came back to defend Susie. 

 

The Su-niverse is fucking brilliant. Its the kind of thing WWE try to do and fail miserably. 

[garynysmon]

I love shit like this. Best bit is Callis looking on in the background.

 

[PowerButchi]

Impact is the absolute best. I'm gutted it's not on telly anymore. 

 

I'm missing a kebab and watching it on 5star of a Friday.