 | Happy Holidays to everyone here at Impact Asylum. I hope everyone is having a peaceful couple of weeks. We are nearing the end of one of the shittiest years in recent memory. I am very grateful for what I have and for my friends, family and other things. This is usually the slow time for the site, with Christmas and other holidays, so Impact is in Best of Mode. I wanted to serve you up a column as a quick read in the meantime. |
* First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Brodie Lee. Lee was an incredible star and by all accounts, a great man as well. Almost everyone who associated with him had nothing but positive things to say about him. He left this world too early.
* We are getting two weeks of holiday specials which include Best of Moments and End of Year Awards. Last week's show had a lot more original content than I had expected. We got a match announcement or two and the participants for the Super X Cup Tournament at Genesis. My hope is that in years going forward, there is even more original content and perhaps a match or two. Having year-end awards and best of moments is fine but I do love me a good themed holiday special. Unique sets and overall fun is something I love about these shows.
* Sounds like contract season is upon us. Many names are rumored to be having expiring contracts within the next six or so months. Ethan Page, Sami Callihan, Taya Valkyrie, Moose, Kiera Hogan, Rosemary, Jordynne Grace, Willie Mack and others are just some of the names rumored. My hope is that Impact can hang on to most of these names. It would be devastating to the roster if the turnover was that large. They did a pretty good job in 2020 making sure that the turnover wasn't felt but I think if we lost those names, it would really hurt the product.
* We are getting two weeks of holiday specials which include Best of Moments and End of Year Awards. Last week's show had a lot more original content than I had expected. We got a match announcement or two and the participants for the Super X Cup Tournament at Genesis. My hope is that in years going forward, there is even more original content and perhaps a match or two. Having year-end awards and best of moments is fine but I do love me a good themed holiday special. Unique sets and overall fun is something I love about these shows.
* Sounds like contract season is upon us. Many names are rumored to be having expiring contracts within the next six or so months. Ethan Page, Sami Callihan, Taya Valkyrie, Moose, Kiera Hogan, Rosemary, Jordynne Grace, Willie Mack and others are just some of the names rumored. My hope is that Impact can hang on to most of these names. It would be devastating to the roster if the turnover was that large. They did a pretty good job in 2020 making sure that the turnover wasn't felt but I think if we lost those names, it would really hurt the product.
* The Super X Cup participants have been announced. Ace Austin, Crazzy Steve, Cousin Jake, Suicide and Daivari will be the current roster members while KC Navarro, Tre Lamar and Blake Christian will be rounding out the brackets on the new wrestler side. Ace Austin is clearly the favorite in this tournament because of all he has accomplished. I don't know much about the new faces but KC Navarro seems to have the best look. I know Lamar was one of the guys that Alex Shelley brought in.
I am just happy to see this tournament back. It is a good launching pad to elevate wrestlers up the card. I am not sure if the entire tournament or just the first round will be happening at Genesis but I do look forward to January's Impact Plus special.
* I am very happy for Madison Rayne but will be sad to see her go. I enjoyed the pairing with Josh Mathews. While some weeks were weaker than others, I believe that to be more of a stylistic choice rather than the abilities of either. My guess is Matt Striker will be filling Madison's role. It looked like they were testing him out a few weeks ago while Madison played lawyer for Johnny Swinger.
* I have really loved seeing the Impact Twitter post "Best of" gifs and videos. There were so many fun matches and moments from this year that will be forgotten. Specifically, the match between Johnny Swinger and "Action" Mike Jackson.
The Twitter really shows what kind of year Impact has had. The pandemic really changed their creative plans and direction. I have thoroughly enjoyed the show all year but can imagine how things would have looked had the pandemic not hit us. Specifically, I wish we would have gotten "TNA: No Place Like Home." They had some interesting things planned for that show.
* While our site traditionally has End of Year Awards, we went in a different direction. Primarily my schedule didn't allow me to put the awards together. I also wanted to focus on the official end of year awards that Impact Wrestling puts out. Our site is just a small representation of the overall fanbase.
* Slammiversary was easily the biggest show of the year but the stuff with AEW is a real challenger. It is evident to me that Kenny Omega will be a recurring character for Impact, likely with the general idea of him being a belt collector. I am curious to see if this relationship turns into anything more than a storyline involving Kenny Omega, Good Brothers and Don Callis. Wait and see I guess.
Until next time...
I am just happy to see this tournament back. It is a good launching pad to elevate wrestlers up the card. I am not sure if the entire tournament or just the first round will be happening at Genesis but I do look forward to January's Impact Plus special.
* I am very happy for Madison Rayne but will be sad to see her go. I enjoyed the pairing with Josh Mathews. While some weeks were weaker than others, I believe that to be more of a stylistic choice rather than the abilities of either. My guess is Matt Striker will be filling Madison's role. It looked like they were testing him out a few weeks ago while Madison played lawyer for Johnny Swinger.
* I have really loved seeing the Impact Twitter post "Best of" gifs and videos. There were so many fun matches and moments from this year that will be forgotten. Specifically, the match between Johnny Swinger and "Action" Mike Jackson.
The Twitter really shows what kind of year Impact has had. The pandemic really changed their creative plans and direction. I have thoroughly enjoyed the show all year but can imagine how things would have looked had the pandemic not hit us. Specifically, I wish we would have gotten "TNA: No Place Like Home." They had some interesting things planned for that show.
* While our site traditionally has End of Year Awards, we went in a different direction. Primarily my schedule didn't allow me to put the awards together. I also wanted to focus on the official end of year awards that Impact Wrestling puts out. Our site is just a small representation of the overall fanbase.
* Slammiversary was easily the biggest show of the year but the stuff with AEW is a real challenger. It is evident to me that Kenny Omega will be a recurring character for Impact, likely with the general idea of him being a belt collector. I am curious to see if this relationship turns into anything more than a storyline involving Kenny Omega, Good Brothers and Don Callis. Wait and see I guess.
Until next time...
