The Roundtable is a round-robin style column where our panel answers questions. This edition our panel consists of DeviousAzn, Fireguy and yours truly. We hope this is a monthly column but that remains to be seen.
What are your opinions about how the Impact-AEW partnership has gone so far? What would you change or add?
Fireguy: I believe they started this partnership off EXTREMELY well but couldn't live up to the hype. Don Callis appearing out of nowhere on AEW and saying to tune in to Impact was HUGE and lots of eyes turned to Impact to see what would happen next. The Omega story was going great with the RV segments and stuff like that, the addition of Matt Hardy and Private Party was also very nice (although they could have done more with them). I think things happened behind the scenes since the Sammy Guevara incident that us as fans don't know about (beyond what the dirt sheets are reporting). I think that's why we haven't seen more talent make an appearance on either TV show since that report. I think they've decided to calm everything down and focus on the Omega crossover for now.
I think the one thing they should have changed is the length of this Omega/Moose story. The fact that it seems like they will be dragging this until Bound For Glory is overkill. I get why Moose didn't win the title at Against All Odds (it was just an Impact Plus special). But there was no reason for them to not make Moose demand for a rematch, hell throw in Sami Callihan in there if they truly think it's necessary, and then that would be the perfect length for this Omega storyline. I think that us fans knowing that this will be dragged until BFG is what's truly sucking the life out of the product right now. Unless Impact is willing to throw a curve ball at Slammiversary, I think the length of this current story is what's hurting the crossover the most. I personally believe that to maximize this partnership, they should have had more of a crossover with more talent. I get it, AEW doesn't even have enough TV time to showcase their own talent but having MCMG crossover to AEW for a feud or having Britt Baker come over to Impact for a feud would definitely keep things interesting and fresh as we wonder who will be the next talent to cross over next.
Devious: I've thought this partnership has gone decent so far, Omega adds more to the main event scene for Impact which is already lacking and has put on some good matches at the big ppvs. But for me there is a lot of improvement to this partnership that could have been made with better booking. Firstly I thought they didn't need those Tony Khan weekly promos taking shots at Impact every week and secondly they could have allowed Impact more of their wrestlers to be used into Impacts storylines. I know they tried to do that at the start but then it seems egos got in the way and prevented it from going further, this to me has been the main problem because AEW has treated Impact like they are way bigger than than in the partnership from the beginning.
Talon: I have enjoyed the stuff centered around Kenny Omega winning the World Title. I think having one of the best wrestlers in the world in Impact is a pretty great achievement especially knowing how much smaller Impact is than AEW. I like the main angle with Omega, Good Brothers and Don Callis. The stuff around Callis being fired has been enjoyable. My hope is that a number of wrestlers on Impact's side are protected leading to when Omega eventually loses the World Title.
With that said, the other AEW stuff has been a major miss. When this partnership started, there was so much buzz. Unfortunately the reality of the partnership set it. AEW did paid ads where they constantly ran down Impact Wrestling. Impact never stuck up for themselves. We got Private Party and Matt Hardy challenging for the Tag Titles with an angle (Jerry Lynn interfering) never going anywhere. The stuff with Sammy Guevara also put a bad taste in my mouth.
To me, this is about using Kenny Omega in exchange for AEW using Good Brothers. I think outside of licensing and occasional talent exchanges, it might be best that is what this partnership is limited to.
I think the one thing they should have changed is the length of this Omega/Moose story. The fact that it seems like they will be dragging this until Bound For Glory is overkill. I get why Moose didn't win the title at Against All Odds (it was just an Impact Plus special). But there was no reason for them to not make Moose demand for a rematch, hell throw in Sami Callihan in there if they truly think it's necessary, and then that would be the perfect length for this Omega storyline. I think that us fans knowing that this will be dragged until BFG is what's truly sucking the life out of the product right now. Unless Impact is willing to throw a curve ball at Slammiversary, I think the length of this current story is what's hurting the crossover the most. I personally believe that to maximize this partnership, they should have had more of a crossover with more talent. I get it, AEW doesn't even have enough TV time to showcase their own talent but having MCMG crossover to AEW for a feud or having Britt Baker come over to Impact for a feud would definitely keep things interesting and fresh as we wonder who will be the next talent to cross over next.
Devious: I've thought this partnership has gone decent so far, Omega adds more to the main event scene for Impact which is already lacking and has put on some good matches at the big ppvs. But for me there is a lot of improvement to this partnership that could have been made with better booking. Firstly I thought they didn't need those Tony Khan weekly promos taking shots at Impact every week and secondly they could have allowed Impact more of their wrestlers to be used into Impacts storylines. I know they tried to do that at the start but then it seems egos got in the way and prevented it from going further, this to me has been the main problem because AEW has treated Impact like they are way bigger than than in the partnership from the beginning.
Talon: I have enjoyed the stuff centered around Kenny Omega winning the World Title. I think having one of the best wrestlers in the world in Impact is a pretty great achievement especially knowing how much smaller Impact is than AEW. I like the main angle with Omega, Good Brothers and Don Callis. The stuff around Callis being fired has been enjoyable. My hope is that a number of wrestlers on Impact's side are protected leading to when Omega eventually loses the World Title.
With that said, the other AEW stuff has been a major miss. When this partnership started, there was so much buzz. Unfortunately the reality of the partnership set it. AEW did paid ads where they constantly ran down Impact Wrestling. Impact never stuck up for themselves. We got Private Party and Matt Hardy challenging for the Tag Titles with an angle (Jerry Lynn interfering) never going anywhere. The stuff with Sammy Guevara also put a bad taste in my mouth.
To me, this is about using Kenny Omega in exchange for AEW using Good Brothers. I think outside of licensing and occasional talent exchanges, it might be best that is what this partnership is limited to.
Do you feel that this angle would have worked better if it involved the Knockouts and Women in the main storyline as it is more of a level playing field between both companies?
Devious: I've thought this partnership has gone decent so far, Omega adds more to the main event scene for Impact which is already lacking and has put on some good matches at the big ppvs. But for me there is a lot of improvement to this partnership that could have been made with better booking. Firstly I thought they didn't need those Tony Khan weekly promos taking shots at Impact every week and secondly they could have allowed Impact more of their wrestlers to be used into Impacts storylines. I know they tried to do that at the start but then it seems egos got in the way and prevented it from going further, this to me has been the main problem because AEW has treated Impact like they are way bigger than than in the partnership from the beginning.
Talon: Not necessarily. I think the obstacle is the size difference between AEW and Impact. Many see this partnership as one-sided. I don't think adding women's wrestlers changes that.
Fireguy: I don't believe it's the talent that is causing the hiccups in this partnership (see Private Party and Matt Hardy showing up) more so than the brass at the top (besides the Guevara incident), but I believe having the women from AEW and the Knockouts from Impact going at it would be nothing but a positive. AEW has great talent, their division has just been riddled by horrible booking. If they were to come over to Impact and feud with the amazing Knockouts roster, some real good magic could come out of it (if Impact has a stronger hand in the story telling and booking than AEW/Omega does). I don't think the partnership would have been necessarily objectively ''better'' (from a ratings, overall growth of both companies) but it may had led to more crossovers in general.
Talon: Not necessarily. I think the obstacle is the size difference between AEW and Impact. Many see this partnership as one-sided. I don't think adding women's wrestlers changes that.
Fireguy: I don't believe it's the talent that is causing the hiccups in this partnership (see Private Party and Matt Hardy showing up) more so than the brass at the top (besides the Guevara incident), but I believe having the women from AEW and the Knockouts from Impact going at it would be nothing but a positive. AEW has great talent, their division has just been riddled by horrible booking. If they were to come over to Impact and feud with the amazing Knockouts roster, some real good magic could come out of it (if Impact has a stronger hand in the story telling and booking than AEW/Omega does). I don't think the partnership would have been necessarily objectively ''better'' (from a ratings, overall growth of both companies) but it may had led to more crossovers in general.
What are your biggest criticisms of the Impact product right now? How would you fix them?
Talon: I think creative could use a boost. While I disagree that the show needs to be a roller-coaster ride every week (like AEW Dynamite), I do think they need to do a better job finishing angles and following up on stories in a logical fashion. For example, Sami Callihan put Omega through a table last week after being arrested but we only got video packages this week.
I have said before that I think Impact is a very good "wrestling show" but not as good of a TV show. I would like to see them work on this. Do more things that surprise the fans. I love a good wrestling match but I love a good story, promo or angle as well. They need to do more to get fans talking and thinking about the product. Last week is a good example of doing that. They surprised us with Gail Kim, a Lady Frost appearance, the return of Matt Cardona and a storyline involving the top players that went beyond a wrestling match. Within the confines of a wrestling show, you can also make it a good TV show as well.
Fireguy: I have been pretty adamant that since Sacrifice my love for the Impact product and wrestling in general has plummeted. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't instantaneous as my disliking of the product has grown over time but it reached its peak at Sacrifice. For me to pick on very specific things, I would be here all day but I believe that the product in general needs improvement. The Impact TV show is incredibly formulaic and feels incredibly bare bones. They don't do nearly enough to make Impact a proper TV show rather than matches with small segments in between (and yes, there is a difference). It doesn't feel like there's any real animosity, where it feels like the talent are doing play pretend instead of actually putting their all into feuds. Another thing that's a big turn off from the product is the lack of self awareness Impact seems to have about their own talent. Not pulling the pin on a Moose world title run after so many years, finally pushing Josh Alexander (when his contract has half a year left on it) and those are just recent examples. Impact needs to do a better job at capitalizing on the talent they have. They also need more blood feuds/feuds that don't revolve around a gold belt. The last time they did a decent feud that didn't revolve around ''I want that belt'' or a simple feud like ''hey, you shoved me in the hallway'' was the Sami/Eddie feud. And before that? I would probably have to say all the way back to EC3 and Rockstar Spud. Now don't get me wrong, there's obviously been tons since, but it lacks the aggression, the intensity and the intricacy and buildup I want in wrestling. I'm not asking for a Stanley Kubrick/Quentin Tarantino level of story telling but something a little more engaging than what they are doing now would be greatly appreciated. I'll stop it here before I write a whole novel!
Devious: Mainly the booking is the biggest issue Impact has right now. I think Impact's roster is great but a lot of divisions don't have a lot of contenders at the top except the x-division. To change this they need to do less 50/50 booking the knockouts division is probably the best example of this and also they need more secondary feuds to build more wrestlers up. I find they book too many title matches or general matches on the ppv cards the last few weeks before the card without as much build and i don't think this helps the wrestlers also.
I have said before that I think Impact is a very good "wrestling show" but not as good of a TV show. I would like to see them work on this. Do more things that surprise the fans. I love a good wrestling match but I love a good story, promo or angle as well. They need to do more to get fans talking and thinking about the product. Last week is a good example of doing that. They surprised us with Gail Kim, a Lady Frost appearance, the return of Matt Cardona and a storyline involving the top players that went beyond a wrestling match. Within the confines of a wrestling show, you can also make it a good TV show as well.
Fireguy: I have been pretty adamant that since Sacrifice my love for the Impact product and wrestling in general has plummeted. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't instantaneous as my disliking of the product has grown over time but it reached its peak at Sacrifice. For me to pick on very specific things, I would be here all day but I believe that the product in general needs improvement. The Impact TV show is incredibly formulaic and feels incredibly bare bones. They don't do nearly enough to make Impact a proper TV show rather than matches with small segments in between (and yes, there is a difference). It doesn't feel like there's any real animosity, where it feels like the talent are doing play pretend instead of actually putting their all into feuds. Another thing that's a big turn off from the product is the lack of self awareness Impact seems to have about their own talent. Not pulling the pin on a Moose world title run after so many years, finally pushing Josh Alexander (when his contract has half a year left on it) and those are just recent examples. Impact needs to do a better job at capitalizing on the talent they have. They also need more blood feuds/feuds that don't revolve around a gold belt. The last time they did a decent feud that didn't revolve around ''I want that belt'' or a simple feud like ''hey, you shoved me in the hallway'' was the Sami/Eddie feud. And before that? I would probably have to say all the way back to EC3 and Rockstar Spud. Now don't get me wrong, there's obviously been tons since, but it lacks the aggression, the intensity and the intricacy and buildup I want in wrestling. I'm not asking for a Stanley Kubrick/Quentin Tarantino level of story telling but something a little more engaging than what they are doing now would be greatly appreciated. I'll stop it here before I write a whole novel!
Devious: Mainly the booking is the biggest issue Impact has right now. I think Impact's roster is great but a lot of divisions don't have a lot of contenders at the top except the x-division. To change this they need to do less 50/50 booking the knockouts division is probably the best example of this and also they need more secondary feuds to build more wrestlers up. I find they book too many title matches or general matches on the ppv cards the last few weeks before the card without as much build and i don't think this helps the wrestlers also.
Plenty of free agents will be available by Slammiversary or Bound for Glory. Who would you like to see signed? Is there a name that stands out as a major player that you would like to see signed?
Fireguy: Realistically? I could see Chelsea Green, Mickie James, Buddy Murphy, Wesley Blake and Tony Nese appearing before BFG. Realistically I also see Tyler Breeze, Fandango and Mojo Rawley showing up at one point (although they've all gone on record to say they won't be returning to wrestling immediately, hence why I'm saying later on they will show up). Out of these names, I believe they can all be used in specific roles to make them into stars, although some may take a bit more work than others (notably Tony Nese and Buddy Murphy), I still believe they could shine in either a tag team or a singles star. If were talking about talent I WANT to see in Impact, Kalisto, Ever Rise and Ruby Riott would be at the top of my list, although I don't believe they will show up in Impact.
Devious: To be fair to the released wrestlers, I don't believe many of them bring much hype and aren't as strong as last years released talent.I think realistically they have a good chance at getting a few few new knockouts like Laurel Van Ness, Ruby, Iiconics, Mickie James and all have good potential to make the knockouts division better and a few title reigns.
Talon: It seems to me that Impact will benefit from a number of new Knockouts over the Summer. I am expecting a few new additions like Chelsea Green, Iiconics and another new face or two. Seems like Impact is making a major play for Buddy Murphy. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a few appearances from him and likely Wesley Blake. In a few months, I also see Tony Nese returning to Impact. Of those names, I think Chelsea Green will probably make the biggest splash.
Devious: To be fair to the released wrestlers, I don't believe many of them bring much hype and aren't as strong as last years released talent.I think realistically they have a good chance at getting a few few new knockouts like Laurel Van Ness, Ruby, Iiconics, Mickie James and all have good potential to make the knockouts division better and a few title reigns.
Talon: It seems to me that Impact will benefit from a number of new Knockouts over the Summer. I am expecting a few new additions like Chelsea Green, Iiconics and another new face or two. Seems like Impact is making a major play for Buddy Murphy. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a few appearances from him and likely Wesley Blake. In a few months, I also see Tony Nese returning to Impact. Of those names, I think Chelsea Green will probably make the biggest splash.
After providing stability and security to Impact Wrestling, what are the next steps that Anthem can take to bring the wrestling company to the next level?
Devious: Firstly I believe AXS and Anthem are a very good home for Impact. But I do think their ratings are quite limited on the AXS channel, for me I would be trying to increase their fan base and crowd attendances in different markets by shortening their taping periods and going on the road more. Also i would try to build their app up more with new programming and possibly having their big ppvs free on it kind of like how the WWE network works. I believe providing for big ppvs free would boost up subscriptions.
Talon: First things first, they need to re-energize their audience. I think aiming to get back to that 150,000-200,000 range for viewership is a good step in the right direction. Getting crowds back and having a hot main angle will likely help with that.
I think there is a ceiling for Impact in its current situation though. AXS is a smaller network so its not available in as many homes. Many fans only watch wrestling through traditional ways and so streaming it isn't really an option. I could see Impact Wrestling growing outward. AXS could add additional Impact programming on their network. Some things talked about have been a Knockouts show, another season of Wrestlehouse, a TNA show etc. I think you add original content for Wrestle Week and you expand from there. One thing I really enjoy about Impact is that I am not overwhelmed by the amount of programming offered.
Honestly though, the growth of Impact will coincide with the growth of Anthem. It will be up to Anthem to acquire additional assets and get their current assets in more homes. Anthem will need to grow AXS, which will in turn, grow Impact.
Fireguy: What a loaded question! First of all, they need to build up more talent. They need to take the talent they have now (Maclin, Something, Josh Alexander, Morrissey if he's staying long term) and build them up. They need to make the stars of tomorrow (and lowkey the stars needed now since the main event scene is depleted) that will bring the company forward. Yes they have lifers like Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards, but those two can't just be the whole main event scene forever. Second thing they need to do, and this is going to be in the long term, is the expansion of Anthem's TV networks, Fight Network expanding across the world (with Impact hopefully going along for that ride), the hopeful expansion/growth of AXS and maybe even Anthem making another network purchase in the future and slapping Impact on there. Ideally, Impact would want to be in a situation that ROH is in, with ROH airing on tons of small channels, but with the only difference being that Impact will air on a bunch of medium sized channels (in comparison to ROH running local channels).
Another thing they HAVE to do if they want to grow in any meaningful way is getting more people in the back, I was always of the mindset that you should have more people behind the scenes than actually on camera to have a growing wrestling company. Impact need a marketing division ASAP, it's their biggest flaw thus far and they need to get the word out there that they exist, that they're coming to town, that they have merch, that they have really good talent, etc.
Talon: First things first, they need to re-energize their audience. I think aiming to get back to that 150,000-200,000 range for viewership is a good step in the right direction. Getting crowds back and having a hot main angle will likely help with that.
I think there is a ceiling for Impact in its current situation though. AXS is a smaller network so its not available in as many homes. Many fans only watch wrestling through traditional ways and so streaming it isn't really an option. I could see Impact Wrestling growing outward. AXS could add additional Impact programming on their network. Some things talked about have been a Knockouts show, another season of Wrestlehouse, a TNA show etc. I think you add original content for Wrestle Week and you expand from there. One thing I really enjoy about Impact is that I am not overwhelmed by the amount of programming offered.
Honestly though, the growth of Impact will coincide with the growth of Anthem. It will be up to Anthem to acquire additional assets and get their current assets in more homes. Anthem will need to grow AXS, which will in turn, grow Impact.
Fireguy: What a loaded question! First of all, they need to build up more talent. They need to take the talent they have now (Maclin, Something, Josh Alexander, Morrissey if he's staying long term) and build them up. They need to make the stars of tomorrow (and lowkey the stars needed now since the main event scene is depleted) that will bring the company forward. Yes they have lifers like Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards, but those two can't just be the whole main event scene forever. Second thing they need to do, and this is going to be in the long term, is the expansion of Anthem's TV networks, Fight Network expanding across the world (with Impact hopefully going along for that ride), the hopeful expansion/growth of AXS and maybe even Anthem making another network purchase in the future and slapping Impact on there. Ideally, Impact would want to be in a situation that ROH is in, with ROH airing on tons of small channels, but with the only difference being that Impact will air on a bunch of medium sized channels (in comparison to ROH running local channels).
Another thing they HAVE to do if they want to grow in any meaningful way is getting more people in the back, I was always of the mindset that you should have more people behind the scenes than actually on camera to have a growing wrestling company. Impact need a marketing division ASAP, it's their biggest flaw thus far and they need to get the word out there that they exist, that they're coming to town, that they have merch, that they have really good talent, etc.
In the past, Impact has had difficulty retaining top talent. What can they do to change that?
Talon: I think they need to go the Moose route and be more aggressive. Don't wait until the last minute when the talent can shop around and find the best deal. Get on top of things months and months before the talent's deals expires. When you are doing that, offer them strong money offers. I also think Impact and Anthem should embrace the fact that they own a network and they have the ability to do unique specials and programming based around the talent. I am sure there are a number of creative minds who would love to be an Executive Producer for their own show on AXS TV.
Fireguy: I think they are already doing what they can with the situation they are in. Allowing talent to keep their IP and having creative freedom is a big plus to keeping talent. However, I think the talent are leaving because of the size of the platform and the money. One of those is a lot easier to fix than the other. Talent are leaving Impact because it's a shell of it's former self when it comes to reach, size, the platform/network it's on, etc. Wrestlers want a bigger platform where they'll be in front of more people and be recognized. The other one is the money, only a handful of talent in Impact are being paid 6 figures. If Impact can somehow convince Anthem to open up their wallet just a tad bit more, I believe they would be able to keep talent a lot easier. I know reports are conflicting, but if Impact opened up the big wallet for Moose to re-sign him, that was a good play. Now they need to keep doing that for the rest of the talent. Of course, don't give Moose money to every single talent but open the wallet up a bit more so Impact can have the flexibility when it comes to negotiations where, for example, if their cap is X$ it's now Y$ (Y being obviously a tad bit higher).
Devious: Impact should try to negotiate contracts with their talent as early as possible. Impact seems to leave it late and by that time talent are able to look at their market worth in other companies and that significant decreases Impacts chances of re-signing them. They should try to negotiate with them to sign 3-6 months before their contracts are up an good example of this is with Moose, they seem to have negotiated with him earlier, they were aggressive and put a lot of money and a timeline for him re-sign before he could look at other offers. If talent still doesn't want to re-sign with this strategy then Impact have pretty much done all they can and should move on.
Fireguy: I think they are already doing what they can with the situation they are in. Allowing talent to keep their IP and having creative freedom is a big plus to keeping talent. However, I think the talent are leaving because of the size of the platform and the money. One of those is a lot easier to fix than the other. Talent are leaving Impact because it's a shell of it's former self when it comes to reach, size, the platform/network it's on, etc. Wrestlers want a bigger platform where they'll be in front of more people and be recognized. The other one is the money, only a handful of talent in Impact are being paid 6 figures. If Impact can somehow convince Anthem to open up their wallet just a tad bit more, I believe they would be able to keep talent a lot easier. I know reports are conflicting, but if Impact opened up the big wallet for Moose to re-sign him, that was a good play. Now they need to keep doing that for the rest of the talent. Of course, don't give Moose money to every single talent but open the wallet up a bit more so Impact can have the flexibility when it comes to negotiations where, for example, if their cap is X$ it's now Y$ (Y being obviously a tad bit higher).
Devious: Impact should try to negotiate contracts with their talent as early as possible. Impact seems to leave it late and by that time talent are able to look at their market worth in other companies and that significant decreases Impacts chances of re-signing them. They should try to negotiate with them to sign 3-6 months before their contracts are up an good example of this is with Moose, they seem to have negotiated with him earlier, they were aggressive and put a lot of money and a timeline for him re-sign before he could look at other offers. If talent still doesn't want to re-sign with this strategy then Impact have pretty much done all they can and should move on.
Thank you for our panel. We should be back with another edition of Roundtable later this Summer. Everyone, please enjoy the hell out of Slammiversary!
