5 ways IMPACT can reach the next level
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Impact Wrestling editor for #Wrestlebuddy
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Over the past 3 and a half years we have seen Impact Wrestling make incredible strides to become a really enjoyable product. What you see on the screen always leaves you with a feeling that what you paid was worth it, plus everything behind the scenes is far more comforting than what we’ve seen over the past few years also. In a far more organised and safe set of hands than what we’ve seen for a long time.
When you’ve got a company who is on a path of progression, it really gives you a good feeling as to what may be next? We have seen changes on screen when it comes to the commentary team (numerous times), the in ring product and the direction of the company itself (when you look at who they’re now pushing in the main event) when it comes to wrestlers.
With all these changes now bringing such a positive show, you know that Impact will be looking to build on this. You have to wonder, in what way they will be able to take the current product to the next level? Lets have a look at a few ways that could elevate the current Impact Wrestling product to that next level.
5. Build a Main Event Core
Impact for a number of years have had a fair bit of trouble with finding their identity. They have been through many ownership changes and with all of those changes, there comes change in directions and change of wrestlers that get pushed. For a good number of years, you’ve never really been sure who is officially an “Impact” talent, this is mainly due to their open door policy. This can be a slight hindrance as you always wonder how long some of these wrestlers will be around?
If you look back to the earlier days of TNA you had your core guys like your AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels then we had Sting, Kurt Angle and Christian Cage as the experience heads who where always around. It was a time where you had a core set of wrestlers who’s faces instantly came to mind when you thought of TNA (over time other wrestlers got pushed in and out of the core). At this time, if a wrestler (especially a main player) was to leave the promotion, we would be very surprised.
It feels like Impact are starting to try and build a core group up in the main event picture with Moose, Josh Alexander, maybe JONAH if he sticks around? They have their experience core guys as it is with names like Eddie Edwards and Chris Sabin, however Impact need to continue building this core up. So much so that when fans outside of Impact think of the promotion, they have a face that instantly comes into their mind who Impact have created.
4. Improve BTI
Many Impact fans for some time now have been calling for a second show, or possibly even the return of Xplosion. Impact did have a full Knockouts show in their plans at one point, however that has still yet to come to fruition. Currently Impact have a 2 hour episode of Impact Wrestling, with a 1 hour episode of Before The Impact proceeding it.
This does add up to 3 hours of TV time, however the trouble with BTI is the way it’s structured. It is presented (currently) by Josh Matthews and Gia Miller who walk you through every match from the previous weeks Impact, highlights are then shown of the match which show you near enough the entire match. After half an hour we get a change up with Iceman Intel, a weekly match (which is a good match and does last 10 mins) and the social media top 5.
This layout can be very problematic, especially if you watched Impact the week before it mostly feels like filler to watch every match again (especially if you have Impact Insiders and Impact Plus when you can watch whenever you want). BTI is always laid out the same each week, so if the highlights aren’t for you, you may as well only watch the last 20 minutes. BTI could very easily fit another match or promo segment onto it, all if they put a little bit of work into the layout.
3. Spread the product Worldwide
It’s quite clear these days that there isn’t as much of the casual wrestling fan any more, many wrestlers have stated it and if you look deep into every promotion, there’s a lot of truth to it. I myself am guilty of not showing my support to other products when I feel I should do (when I feel they’ve actually done enough to earn it).
Even in today’s wrestling, people still always get drawn towards what the ratings say. The issue with this is that there many different ways to watch the product other than live on TV (where your viewership number counts), plus you also have the option to watch it whenever you like on catch up now too. This can make the ratings very wonky and a little false. Recently we’ve seen some news that may definitely help Impact going forward however.
Impact have looked at reaching their product into more counties outside the USA, They already have Impact shown within India and a few other countries in the surrounding area, now Impact have reached an extra 22 countries with their deal through Eurosport. This deal is only for their Impact Plus specials, however all roads must lead somewhere. You can only get so many eyes on your product when it’s only in one place, so it’s always best to spread Impact Wrestling as far and wide, to more and more people as it’s possible. This is a great start to open the door to new audiences and hopefully prove how big the fanbase is worldwide
2. Sharpen Production
Over the years Impact have had a very up and down ship when it comes to their production, they had a period where it was looking really top notch about 10 years ago. Through the years Impact have always seemed to have some kind of issue though (especially when it comes to their PPV’s and Impact Plus specials),
Very recently Impact’s production and presentation has really improved. Little by little Impact are making themselves look far more presentable, on the screen as well as off (like on their website). Plus you can enjoy the product these days with few errors, where as there used to be matches in the past that you’d miss due to errors in the production.
With Impact making moves forward like this it’s great to see that (even if it is slow) it’s good that we are moving in a positive direction. If Impact want to begin to look to be taken seriously then the odd issue happens occasionally, however not every show, whether it be the Impact Plus stream buffering or issues in the building with commentary or lights, Impact always seemed to be blessed with a bit of bad luck. They have made some great steps but if new viewers are to be made, these creases need to be ironed out.
1. IMPACT is LIVE
Impact Wrestling as a promotion has nearly always ran on the system of taping their weekly episodes, besides a period in 2010 where Impact began going live weekly, Impact have always taped their shows in advance to air at a later date.
While this does have a few pluses to it, it does also have a few negatives to it also. One negative is that spoilers will get out from the tapings and spoil what’s going to happen in the upcoming shows (explains why Impact did their best rating in the pandemic with no one there). Also there is nothing like the buzz you get from a live event, Impact have started doing it with their PPV’s and Impact plus events and it has really helped give them that extra spark.
While going live every week would very likely hurt Impact (as we saw in the past), we could easily see Impact move their taping schedule so the first day (if there are multiple days) will fall on a Thursday. Impact could make their tapings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the Thursday being a live Impact Wrestling. Especially if it’s Impact after a live PPV or Impact Plus special, you’ve got two live events back to back and it would be reasonably easy to do. Little compromises like this would really benefit Impact to hit that next level.
BONUS: Rising X-Division Talent
Over the last year, Impact Wrestling have been putting more focus on The X Division and also seemingly giving it more importance. In the early days of TNA we saw The X Division used as a title to be a title which elevated talent. We saw it with talents such as AJ Styles, Samoa Joe in the early 2000’s then Austin Aries, Brian Cage and Rich Swann in the years to follow.
The X Division felt like a title that would get you ready for that main event push and prove that you’re ready to be a champion and you can carry yourself as a champion in and out of the ring. Throughout 2021 we saw Josh Alexander carry the X Division Championship (and Impact Wrestling) on his back, to which every step was a joy to watch and clearly prepared him for the main event level we see now.
With what we saw with Josh this may be a new step in the X Division and something that may become a regular occurrence. We have seen Trey Miguel take hold of the reigns of The X Division title and it really feels like Impact can see him as a main event talent. Impact have run very hot and cold on the booking of the X Division title, however recently they have been getting it correct and if we see it used as a platform to truly elevate talent to the main event level. Another twist to the title will be interesting and it will give us as fans so much belief towards our X Division Champions.
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