AFTERMATH OF IMPACT!: IMPACT WRESTLING GOING ON THE ROAD

IMPACT WRESTLING ZONE: SURELY I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL MISS IT?

The news this afternoon that TNA is to take IMPACT Wrestling on the road every second week is not a shock to many, it’s been on the horizon for some time. The majority of the Internet Wrestling Community seems to have pegged the “IMPACT Wrestling Zone” as the source of all of TNA’s woes and have it atop their “TNA MUST DO” lists.

Surely I can’t be the only one to harbour some scepticism towards this plan to take IMPACT Wrestling on the road? Personally i think this has the potential to be a bad move from TNA. They aren’t exactly in a position to draw good houses on the road at the big arenas. Add to that the added expenditure of promoting the events as well as flying the talent, crew and equipment to these venues. For a company that posted a loss last year and is beginning to thin the talent roster as a cost cutting measure, surely this is a case of one step forward, two steps back?

Aftermath of IMPACT: “Back from the Dead” – 24/05/2011

IMPACT Wrestling: “Back from the Dead”

IMPACT Wrestling – “Back from the Dead”
Tuesday 24th May 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT WRESTLING:
Mr. Anderson continues the mindgames with his “surprise” for Sting
Ric Flair calls out Robert Roode
Gunner let’s Eric Young know he’s not in the mood for fun and games
Velvet Sky d. Winter & Angelina Love
 Matt Hardy & Eric Bischoff d. Generation Me
Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett agree to bout at Slammiversary with #1 Contendership & Olympic Gold medal on the line.
 Tommy Dreamer shows AJ Styles that his actions are of his own choice
 Samoa Joe d. Amazing Red
 Abyss d. Kazarian to Win the X-Division Title
 Mickie James, Miss Tessmacher and Tara d. Madison Rayne, Sarita & Rosita
 Eric Bischoff vows to destroy the X-Division

First off, deserved mention for TNA producers David Sahadi and Kevin Sullivan who did an amazing job with the new opening video and graphics for IMPACT Wrestling, great stuff. The new blue colour scheme is a lot easier on the eye and the re-designed set looked great.

However the more things change the more they stay the same as the IMPACT Wrestling era started exactly how the Impact era started for the past year: Immortal’s theme music and too many non-wrestlers walking to the ring and an eventual all out brawl between warring factions. Don’t get me wrong, i liked the segement and it set up the premise for the show well, it just felt repetitive.

Aftermath of iMPACT: “THE NETWORK’S REVENGE” – 17/05/2011

IMPACT Wrestling: “THE NETWORK'S REVENGE”

IMPACT Wrestling – “THE NETWORK’S REVENGE”
Tuesday 17th May 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
Mr. Anderson wins 25 Man Battle Royal for Number 1 Contendership
Crimson d. Abyss & Samoa Joe
 Chyna returns to Pro Wrestling as Kurt Angle’s hired “Mistress”
Mick Foley is revealed as the Network’s Representative
 Sangriento d. Suicide
 ”Wildcat” Chris Harris is revealed as Matt Hardy’s Mystery Tag-Partner
 AJ Styles confronts Tommy Dreamer regarding his actions 
 Ric Flair returns…but he is NOT the Network Rep
 Mickie James & Miss Tessmacher d. Madison Rayne & Tara

The IMPACT Wrestling era began with a bang and one of the best episodes in a long time. Mick Foley’s reveal as the Network Representative was well built and made a ton of sense. Mick has a rocky history (both on and off screen) with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, is good personal friends with Sting and Kurt Angle and is a great talker. This is the perfect role for Mick.

I enjoyed the interchange between Mick and Hulk and i loved the digs at WWE with “wrestling matters”, but if i’m allowed to nitpick i thought the change to IMPACT Wrestling wasn’t very clear for the casual viewers for whom it would have come across as a random announcement that really didn’t mean anything at the end of the day. TNA will have to do a better job explaining this change to their entire audience in the weeks to come.

Aftermath of iMPACT: “THE NETWORK IS COMING” – 10/05/2011

TNA iMPACT!: “THE NETWORK IS COMING”

TNA iMPACT! – “THE NETWORK IS COMING”
Tuesday 10th May 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
Kurt Angle & Velvet Sky d. Jeff Jarrett, Winter & Angelina
Hogan & Bischoff speculate on the identity of the Network Representative
The X-Division wrestlers deliver a message to Eric Bischoff
 TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James d. Miss Tessmacher
 Crimson lets Samoa Joe know how he feels about his “Help” last week
 Rob Terry d. Murphy in a Loser Leaves Immortal match
 AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels d. Bully Ray & Gunner via DQ as Tommy Dreamer attacked AJ
 Mexican America Celebrate Cinco De Mayo
 Sangriento d. Suicide
 Bobby Roode has a message for Hulk Hogan

For the second consecutive week TNA delivers a show that looks and feels completely different. For a start the majority of Main Event players are given the night off, No Mr. Anderson and Sting and Rob Van Dam are on screen for no more than a cup of coffee.

Instead the spotlight this week was focused on the Jarretts who focus their attention on who they believed to be Kurt Angle’s hired “Mistress” – Velvet Sky. Velvet sure held her own in the confrontation with Karen Jarrett, their exchange was fluid and realistic and the addition of Winter and Angelina into the mix, furthering that storyline was a nice touch. Of course we all knew Kurt would eventually intervene and setup a main event that seemed hotly anticipated from the crowd.

TNA vs. WWE – UK Wrestling Ratings War: The Facts

TNA Wrestling on Challenge: More to it's success than Freeview

Yesterday saw the announcement of yet more record high viewership numbers for TNA Wrestling on Challenge. I’ve been proud of this sites unrivalled analysis of the weekly UK wrestling ratings and as such feel it necessary to address the one criticism that keeps getting thrown TNA Wrestling’s way (well at least from WWE marks anyway!) when it comes to these viewing figures – that TNA iMPACT! is broadcast on Challenge TV, a freeview channel whereas WWE is broadcast on Sky Sports which is a premium/subscription service.

Aftermath of iMPACT: “QUEEN CLOSEAU” – 03/05/2011

TNA iMPACT!: “QUEEN CLOSEAU”

TNA iMPACT! – “QUEEN CLOSEAU”
Tuesday 3rd May 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
Three Way for the TNA World Heavyweight Title: Sting d. Mr. Anderson, Bully Ray
Television Title Match: Gunner d. Christopher Daniels
 Crimson d. Samoa Joe via DQ following interference from Abyss
Scott Steiner/Matt Morgan backstage brawl
 Anarquia d. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley Returned
 Angelina Love w/Winter d. Velvet Sky
Karen Angle Interrogates the Knockouts

I’ve a confession to make, sometimes i just can’t resist reading the TV tapings results/spoilers. I know it takes away from the some of the excitement of the show, but come on, sometimes you jsut can’t wait to see where a storyline or an angle is going.

I must admit, when i saw the tv tapings report for this episode, aside from the comedic value i anticipated from the Karen Jarrett interrogation segment, i wasn’t that excited about anything else on the show. However occasionally there are certain times when the actual show itself comes off much better than the picture presented by the spoilers, this was one of those episodes.

Aftermath of iMPACT: “Two Horses For Sister Karen” – 26/04/2011

TNA iMPACT!: “TWO HORSES FOR SISTER KAREN”

TNA iMPACT! – “TWO HORSES FOR SISTER KAREN”
Tuesday 26th April 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match: Sting vs. Matt Hardy
Rob Van Dam vs Abyss
 Karen Angle’s “Coronation”
 Sting chooses RVD as his opponent at Sacrifice
 TNA Knockouts Tag-Team Titles Match: Sarita & Rosita vs. Madison Rayne & Tara
 Steel Cage Match for the TNA World Tag-Team Titles: Beer Money vs. Rob Terry & Murphy
 The fallout from TNA Lockdown: AJ Styles/Bully Ray

Aftermath of iMPACT: “Hogan’s Law” – 19/04/2011

Aftermath of iMPACT!: "Hogan's Law"

TNA iMPACT! – “Hogan’s Law”
Tuesday 19th April 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
Mr. Anderson runs the Immortal Gauntlet vs. Bully Ray, Rob Terry, Gunner & Murphy
Rob Van Dam vs Abyss
(Immortal vs. Fortune, Best of 3 Series for the man advantage at Lethal Lockdown) Abyss vs. James Storm
Jeff Jarrett, D’Angelo Dinero & Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe & Kurt Angle
 (Immortal vs. Fortune, Best of 3 Series for the man advantage at Lethal Lockdown) Matt Hardy vs. Kazarian
Jesse Neal vs. Douglas Williams vs. Crimson vs. Orlando Jordan
 Hulk Hogan seeks revenge for Mr. Anderson’s double cross last week

Aftermath of iMPACT: “The Rise of the Fallen Angel” – 12/04/2011

Aftermath of iMPACT!: "The Rise of the Fallen Angel"

TNA iMPACT! – “The Rise of the Fallen Angel”
Tuesday 12th April 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
TNA World Heaveyweight Title Match: Sting vs. Rob Van Dam (Guest Referre – Mr. Anderson)
Bully Ray vs. Christopher Daniels
Generation Me & Robbie E vs. Brian Kendrick, Chris Sabin & Suicide
Rob Van Dam attacks Mr. Anderson in the rafters
 TNA Knockout Tag-Team Titles match: Rosita & Sarita vs. The Beautiful People
Samoa Joe vs. Murphy
 Mexican America (Hernandez & Anarquia) vs. Tommy Dreamer & Devon

Aftermath of iMPACT: “R-V-Damned” – 05/04/2011

Aftermath of iMPACT! - "R-V-Damned"

TNA iMPACT! – “R-V-Damned”
Tuesday 5th April 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT!:
The return of the “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
Steel Cage Match: Matt Hardy, Abyss & Bully Ray vs. Sting, Rob Van Dam & Mr. Anderson
Rob Terry vs. Kurt Angle
Winter vs. Velvet Sky
 Max Buck vs. Jeremy Buck
Scott Steiner vs. Shannon Moore
 Mr. Anderson confronts Earl Hebner as to why he called for the bell last week