Impact Wrestling Review 13th of October (Lawsuits, drama and an episode of Impact)

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Impact Wrestling/ TNA really does lay in limbo right now, despite having tapings done for the rest of the year. I’d like to begin by talking about TNA’s problems as a whole. The review of this week’s episode can be found beginning at the bold writing saying “This Week’s Impact Review”.


The problems intensified for TNA and owner Dixie Carter this week, with Billy Corgan filing a lawsuit against both, for what is not apparent at the moment, nor is it apparent if Corgan has given up trying to buy the company. Additionally, some wrestlers themes had to be removed from the broadcast this week, due to apparent rights issues. Details are limited at the moment, although you would assume possibly the artists of the themes have not been paid their rights fees.

I personally am losing interest in seeing a happy ending for Carter as this situation goes on. I am hopeful we can see the rest of the year play out, knowing what is apparently planned. However, should all the members of the roster and everyone else relaying financially on TNA be able to find employment elsewhere – possibly under Billy Corgan – it may be time to finally lay TNA to rest.

I, just like many others, have had an attachment to TNA, I’ve defended them vigorously and I’ve wanted the company to succeed. I have come to realise however, it’s not the letters T-N-A I want to succeed, nor is it Dixie Carter. It’s the roster, its Jeremy Borash and all the others working hard behind the scenes. A best case scenario here is that TNA does survive. However, should that not be possible, a scenario that would see Corgan start a new separate company, assuming most of, if not all the roster and staff involved, with the current company ending, Carter leaving the wrestling business and WWE buying the tape library of TNA.

Of course this leaves some questions. TNA would have to end altogether, or seriously breach their talents contracts for those talents to be able to freely join a new look company under Corgan. Additionally, the reason Corgan wants the current company, among other things, is to take over its TV contracts. Again, it’s possible if TNA comes to an end, Corgan’s new company (Should he even decide he wants one) may be offered deals similar to what TNA had. I’d assume that could be tough though, with these TV stations unsure of taking on more wrestling, considering their experience with TNA. This could lead to no TV deals, or possibly a cut price deal for the likes of Pop TV and Challenge.

So what if TNA comes to an end but Corgan does not start a new company? Well it’s likely a lot of the behind the scenes staff will be left without a job in the wrestling industry. Which I’m sure no person in their right mind could want for office staff. Additionally, with the size of the roster, it’s unlikely all members of the roster would get deals with a big company.

The likes of Decay and the Hardy’s could find themselves in Lucha Underground, WWE of course also being an offer for the Hardy’s. Many roster members would keep themselves afloat with a busy Indy schedule, however may struggle to get into a company with a TV deal. Jeremy Borash is far more than deserving of a spot in any wrestling federation, his input into TNA since the beginning has been highly important.  The wrestlers I’d worry about most are the likes of: EC3, Drew Galloway, Mike Bennett, Moose, Aron Rex and Maria Kannellis. While all are incredibly talented, they either possibly don’t fit the ROH or Lucha Underground mould. Plus a few on that list left ROH for TNA, so a return could be off the table. WWE may look to pick up some competitors, but there are only so many roster spots available – many may not be favourable to main event calibre talent like Galloway and EC3.

The best scenario here certainly does seem like TNA sorting itself out. Although that’s far easier said than done. Should TNA cease to exist the next best scenario is for Corgan, or anyone who sees a gap in the market to start a new company, which could pick up much of TNA’s staff and roster. The worst case scenario is that TNA ends, without another company popping up to take its spot. Of course, there is always the possibility that Jeff Jarrett and GFW could take advantage of this, who wants some Global Force Gold?


This Weeks Impact Review

Moving on to the actual show now, TNA has continued to provide a stellar product week to week. It’s too bad they couldn’t match their product to their business decisions, would make the current situation a lot easier to swallow.

Turning Aron Rex into more of a villain seems like the correct direction. From his time in WWE, while he shined as Miz’s stunt double, his work as a smarmy villain was excellent. Additionally, things haven’t gone perfectly for Rex since his introduction. He hasn’t stood out in many matches and his big feud with Galloway was cut short due to Galloway’s injury. Rex is an incredibly talented individual, so I’m sure he can pull this off. I’ve also wanted to see Jessie Godderz given more of a platform and his role in this match certainly was that. Hopefully Jessie stays involved with this storyline, rather than being pushed out for a more established main eventer. Jessie a lot of positive traits; he is young, athletic, has charisma, isn’t too bad on the mic, he’s jacked, is constantly improving in the ring, gets a good reaction from the female demographic and is clearly hard working as he has come on leaps and bounds since his debut way back at Bound for Glory 2012.

The DCC is a faction that has been rumoured for a while on TNA forums. I believe the speculation came after the twitter account for the faction was discovered. I’m fan of the interruption “hacking” type deal. I’ve always been a fan of masked factions who come in to create havoc. I just hope this one is aiming for some other wrestlers in particular, rather than looking to “take over the company” as we’ve seen that time and time again with this company. We’ve also got to hope that the company is around long enough for this whole thing to play out.

The knockouts division has had a couple of shakeups. With her loss to Gail Kim this week, Maria is no longer the leader of the division. This of course should mean a fairer division and no more manipulation of power from Maria. You’d expect more challengers to come forward for Gail Kim now. I’m expecting any episode now we will see Allie turn on Maria as well. As I said before Bound for Glory, with Decay losing the tag team titles, I’m hoping to see Rosemary inserted into the knockouts division. Possibly she could be Gail’s next challenger. We also had Madison Rayne on commentary for this match. I actually thought she did quite well, so it will be interesting to see if this continues.

Eddie Edwards having just won the World title already has challengers lining up. He is set to face Cody, who has seemingly received a title shot for winning one match. Obviously I’m not complaining that we get to see Cody have a match with Eddie Edwards – it should be a hell of a match – it does seem as though it’s a bit undeserved in a storyline sense. Additionally to this, Moose defeated EC3 for the right to face Lashley next week, with the winner also getting a shot at Eddie Edward, should Edwards still be champion after facing Cody.

A feud between EC3 and Eli Drake is all I could have asked for. Both men are so entertaining when simply talking, so this feud has the potential to really be something special. It also sees EC3 in a position he hasn’t been in before. Ethan wasn’t pinned or submitted in well over the first year he was in TNA. Even after Mike Bennett managed to pin him, Ethan has had very little loses. Now, after his loss to Lashley, and losing to Moose on this episode, I believe this is the first time EC3 has lost two matches in a row.


So I’m sure next week’s review will be full of speaking of a good wrestling show and sadly, plenty more drama. Maybe we will actually have a bit of a resolution by next week, although I have a feeling this is something that is going to continue for the coming months.

I am 18 years old, and a journalism student at university. I write about professional wrestling and soccer. Twitter - LewisMichie0